Insidious, chapter 2. No Lipstick-face Demon?! Are they kidding me?!::mad::
However, this is a good movie still, even quite frightening ::big grin::

Currently watching Lovelace. I really like Amanda Seyfried and I love a good biopic (Runaways is a favorite of mine), but this is really dry and boring. The Deep Throat Documentary was better.


...


Edit. 12/15: Now I'm currently watching The Wolverine. Also kinda boring. Good thing Hugh Jackman is easy on the eyes.

The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia

Any good?

SPOILERS!!!





The Ward -

I was excited about finally getting to see this movie. And after seeing it I was disappointed and ready to give it a bad review as the movie feels at times like one of those cheap late night movies or a free Fear.net title. I know many directors have duds but if this didn't say John Carpenter's The Ward at the opening titles you would have a hard time convincing people that this is a movie from the guy that made The Thing and Halloween. But I watched a few bits again and realized something. This might not be a horror movie for me. It's a horror movie for girls or women that usually don't like horror movies. And if you go by this premise, the movie isn't that bad. However, my review coming from me as a guy is a disappointment. You have John Carpenter directing with Amber Heard, Danielle Panabaker, and Lyndsy Fonseca in it. I seriously thought this would be a movie I would own.

From the beginning the setup is obvious. Just like Cabin in the Woods, the opening tells you the twist if you pick up on it. The only question is how good will the ride be? I've seen many movies with similar setups that do a better job with the theme and twist. And that twist should have been handled better. A big tell with these movies is how the other characters interact with the main character. But The Ward plays it straight then drops the twist which would be a surprise if you ignored the opening credits and perhaps a few other scenes in the movie. But for the most part, the way it's played the average viewer won't be able to tell. I even started to think that maybe they weren't going to go through with it. Even though they did eventually.

This sort of movie really depends on the character you gravitate to, which for me was Amber Heard's character. It's a shame how the movie resolves her situation. And her situation is bad as only the person in the oldest profession wouldn't be damaged by it. Yet it's a disappointment to see how it's resolved. But like I opened with, all this is ok because many of those other movies can be seen as guy movies and maybe this is the first one for women.

PS - I didn't like the final ending scare. It's used in lesser movies and didn't make sense for the character that did it. It's surprising that Carpenter even used it considering his horror background. To see it used well see Sinister, which is great.





Sinister -

I watched this late at night and from the opening shot I was into it. At first I thought the tree was picking people up. That must have been the alcohol working. But it's a very spooky shot. Anyway, the character they created in this movie is the real deal. But I don't know if I want to see a sequel. Too many chances for a mess up. After the movie I was freaked out, not looking outside windows when I passed them. I'm still kind of shaky about it. I think since I was young the idea of a creature watching, basically in the open, was scary. I think there was an old 80s horror music video by the Ghostbusters guy called "Somebody's Watching You" that started my paranoia with that sort of thing. Like everyone was a creature or zombie. Even the mailman.

I like how every character in Sinister is smart, even the writer who for his story and family's financial safety wants to figure out what's going on. Even though he is endangering his family just by being where he is. The way it plays out and is setup you'll want to figure out what's going on too. Which is interesting as it's like we are with the writer watching the movies as he is. I can't recommend this one enough.





V/H/S aka A bunch of assholes are filmed and bad things happen to them -

I almost stopped watching this movie minutes into it as one of the first scenes features a bunch of guys assaulting a girl in public during broad daylight. It's not rape but it might as well be. I don't see how the director or writers thought this was a good scene to start the movie with. In fact they like the scene so much that it's featured in the credits multiple times. When I was in grade school a bunch of guys used to go around slapping the butt of many girls and running. I thought they were animals and belonged in detention if not worse for that. In fact, I think the director or writers might just be closet rapists or something because there are other similar, very crude scenes with women. I thought I was about to watch a full on girl passed out due to alcohol sex/rape scene at one point. Which I don't think was beyond the guy's character but the writers thought they better not cross that line and have the guy move to his friend's girl. There are a few topless webcam things too and a shot in a car with a blonde girl that's very similar to that real life blonde girl that went missing on one of those islands close to South America. It's all very crude and tasteless stuff.

I actually thought I was watching the wrong movie and not a horror movie at all at first as the horror doesn't start until 30 minutes into the movie. And for the most part it doesn't feel like a horror movie but just let's film a bunch of assholes and have them encounter horror elements or bad situations. It's not the slightest bit scary and I was bored and watched the last two segments a day later. I just read the wiki on V/H/S 2 and I'll pass on that one now.

Muppet Christmas Carol
Scrooged
Home Alone...

Next week comes the holiday horror, as I'm baking Ninja Bread Man cookies.

I'd like to see a picture of the cookies, please. They sound badass!

Finally saw Cloud Atlas.

really enjoyed it ... overwhelmed by the amount of work that went into every aspect of that film.

It was nice watching something you could sink your teeth into.


Also saw - The Hobbit II and Bad Grandpa

I have the book Cloud Atlas, couldn't get into it. I'll probably give it another go.

@ImmortalSlasher - Yeah, I didn't think that The Ward was really that bad. Honestly, I had no expectation of it so there wasn't anything to be let down by. I love Amber Heard, though - She's just stunning. Also, glad I'm not the only one around here who loved Sinister. Seems to be a lot of haters for it. I found it genuinely creepy from start to finish. The "Found Footage" honestly unnerved me.


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Watched this last night...


Berberian Sound Studio (2013)


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ps9284b7c0.jpg


Interesting movie. The story revolves around an English man (Toby Jones) who works as a sound engineer on an Italian horror movie in Italy. It's an interesting deconstruction of Giallo, sound, art, and ultimately art imitating life. Very Giallo and very Lynch, this movie was incredibly artful and well-done. At the end of the day, I'm not sure if it's my cup of tea, but I think that people who love Giallo movies will also like this one so for them, I heartily recommend it.

^^ Will be watching that one tonight.

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Insidious Chapter 2

Glad they ditched the idiotic looking villain. Pretty patchy like the first film but it had it's moments. I still think The Pact beat the shit out of these flicks as far as the haunting/ghost subgenre goes (well with the exception of the tacked on jump scare ending).

Force of Execution

Really enjoyed this one. Nothing beats old school styled action films they have a lot more heart than the big flashy blockbusters. Seagal suits these more low key roles where his character is more believable for his age/abilities.

Blood Sweat + Vinyl: DIY in the 21st Century

Pretty good snapshot of some of the more prominent DIY labels. Great to see people putting out music for the love it it rather than to make a profit.

Pacific Rim.....fun movie

Machete Kills....more of the same...if you dug the first you will like this one

Red2....again.....see above

Adam Chaplin. killer flick i really dug it.
review

saw this a few months back....really over the top


good review

Maniac - The new one.
I haven't seen the original so don't really have a basis of comparison.
I thought it was ok. Interesting in the way it was filmed. Hm...bit of a lack of any kind of *real* motivation, though not sure if that is a failing.
Yeah, it wasn't bad.

The Wackness.
Not really sure what it was I liked about this film so much, it was more depressing than anything...though the acting was solid, the musical score was very nice and there was an overall just...quiet watchability about it.
I found it gave off vibes/a feel of things like Donnie Darko and Drive, though it wasn't at all like either of them.
Well done. Enjoyable. I'd probably watch it again down the line.

I love Giallo and I heartily hated it. Yeah...the atmosphere was great & even the premise was interesting but all it was just missing was a simple Giallo story. It'd be lot better if we could get the chance to see that 'unedited movie' in this movie. Found it pretty dull & disappointed.

Deadgirl (2008)

It's not just a horror movie, it's some sort of arthouse work on the horror basement. This movie explores dark parts of a human nature. Interesting one.

you didnt see it in the theatre ?!?

No but after seeing it I wished I had. He really managed to get the feel of size down.

these movies have to be seen on the big screen - like Cloverfield ...

you become like the characters - always looking up - it pulls you right into the movie

haha - Then I revoke my recommendation to Giallo fans, then. ::wink::

Yeah, to be honest, I found it boring! But I assumed that it was just me.


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Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to see Pacific Rim in the theater. Definitely lost a LOT of its magic watching at home. Not enough to distract me from the terrible story and script!

The Giant Monsters and Charlie Day were the highlights of the movie. Everything else was Meh. Wished I had seen it on the big screen.

terrible story!

giant monsters vs giant robots ..

we cant love genre films and be terribly concerned with story - they're all pretty much the same basic premise - survival. We're just along for the ride - to be scared, amazed, thrilled by the visuals, music, etc

When we get a genre movie with a plot or story that runs more deep and meaningful, it's a real prize and it tends to rise above the genre.


i'm perfectly happy with a thin plot/story - as long as I can be moved by something else - be it great action, fantastic visuals, and performances adequate enough to keep me in the movie

Not enough Giant Monsters to play the Genre card for me. I wanted more Giant Monsters. Everything else was boring. Except Charlie Day. I love Charlie.

not enough giant monsters?

so I guess you'll be skipping the new Godzilla movie ? I don't think he has any friends with him :)

What can I say? I was left wanting more. ::wink::

It's kind of an oxymoron I guess but I prefer a bit more seriousness in my giant robots vs monsters flicks.

I can go either way - but when something looks as good as Pacific Rim, I'll take what I can get.

The only false note to me was the Ron Pearlman bit.
He must be the nicest guy in the world - because I just don't enjoy him on screen at all.

My round-up from last week.

Trouble Every Day—Eh, it hovers somewhere between a B and a B-. I first watched this film when I was a total horror newbie and got bored after the first 30 minutes. However, this week I decided to give it another try, solely because it’s a New French Extremity film. In the end, I was not exactly impressed, but I didn’t hate it. The meet-up between the male and female leads should have been played-up a lot more, though.

The Seasoning House—Ugh, I really, really wanted to like this one. I mean, the acting is pretty solid and the visuals are engaging and there is certainly enough brutality in this film to keep you up at night, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get into it. Maybe another watch on another day will change my mind, because I feel as though I should like this film.

Red Clover—This was an AfterDark original. Watching this movie just made me realize how much I miss AfterDark Horrorfest. And even though I haven’t seen it yet, I’m sure “Leprechaun” handles wacky Irish folklore much better.

Here Comes the Devil—I waited so long for this one! It was foreign, had some good reviews and an intriguing supernatural plotline. But this week was just one disappointment after another. The film was all right, probably my fault for building it up so much. The movie itself seemed like a hybrid between “Picnic at Hanging Rock” and “Pet Sematary” which I found pretty cool, although the execution fell a little flat for me.

Welcome to the Jungle—I watched this one mainly because it was “found footage” (my horror movie weakness) and because I’m insanely excited for “Green Inferno”. There was maybe one “Cannibal Holocaust”-esque moment, otherwise, it was mostly some inane chatter between the main characters that made the backwoods bitching of “Blair Witch” look mature and logical.

Anyway, a week of disappointments for me, but I’m hoping this week will be better. I have a bunch of movies to watch while doing all my Christmas chores and who knows, maybe I’ll have a Festivus miracle and find something I can go crazy over. *fingers crossed*

I agree. Pacific Rim played my nostalgia piano perfectly. It took all the best elements from an otherwise unpolished live action genre and made them shine. This kinda film isn't meant to be high art. It is meant to be big and thrilling. Robot Jox VS Godzilla would probably be the closest in feel compared to this film.

I Spit On Your Grave (2010)

Held off watching this one kinda lost my stomach for extreme stuff. Pretty solid remake didn't quite have the punch or sleaze of the original. Much better than the Last House on the Left remake anyways.

Isle of the Damned
Total misleading, dull piece of garbage.
REVIEW

The Purge.............this movie sucked. Had the Roadhouse like ending. Instead of we are talking our town back it was you guys made all that money off of us for crappy security. I thought Pacific Rim was amazing. Of course the story was ridiculous but the CGI was unreal. Kinda of like Indepedance Day

Thats why I was dissapointed in it - I didn't expect 'the story(script) was ridiculous' - I expected more from Del Toro.

your right , i forgot that it was directed by Del Toro. I can see why you expected more.

By the way, love your avatar. Being of german descent of course.

I agree with the Purge. I was really looking forward to it and saw it in theaters after seeing the trailer for it and thinking what a great concept. But instead of focusing on the actual concept it was just another home invasion movie.

It is fine that you didn't like the story of Pacific Rim, but Del Toro has done many films that have a ridiculous story. Are you sure you don't just have your expectations misplaced?

Cronos, Blade 2, Hellboy and Hellboy 2 are all films which feature weakly developed character archetypes that are counted on to move a fundamentally unplausible & fantastic (formal) story forward. That is to say they all have a ridiculous story. You can feel how you want and its fine to do so. This is just my observation.

Nowhere (1997)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...here_araki.jpg

Fucking incredible absurdist comedy apocalypse teen melodrama. Or something like that. I've seen this many times and it never gets old.

Deep Skinned by Gabriel Bartalos. One of the worst horror movies that I have ever seen. "Worst" in a bad way. Weak. You don't have to watch it even if you are a hardcore fan.

Do you mean "Skinned Deep"? Definite piece of garbage but I founds parts of it hilarious.

Yes, I confused the order of words ::big grin::. The same movie, yes. They had to name it Deep Shit.