Review - Amelia

Amelia is based on the true story of Amelia Earhart (through two books about her life) played by Hilary Swank. She was a famous pilot during the 1930s who achieved record setting accomplishments. The infamous part of her career was disapearing somewhere over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to be the first person to fly around the world - an event that has fueled speculation and excitement ever since. Amelia tells this story as well as the tale of her personal life during this period which greatly features her love interest George Putnam (Richard Gere).

The Likes: The first thing that struck me about this movie was the high quality of Richard's and Hiliary's acting as well as that of the supporting cast. Also the film's writing by Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan was suberb. The film shows both the positive and negative sides of being famous from the point of view of Amelia and it showed her as more than just a famous pilot. This wasn't an action movie but it did have plenty of exciting sequences. The background visuals were also excellent.

The Dislikes: This really isn't important to the story itself but I would have liked to have seen more things to contribute to the era that the movie depicts. There are things like period cars, fashion, as well as scenes that make NYC seem like a safe place. But you never hear news reports or anything showing that you are in the Depression era or that there are significant political changes taking place in Asia and Europe. There is a theory out there that Amelia was shot down by Japanese fighters.

Rating: This a good movie. Much better than what I was expecting. I give it a strong ...RENT IT.

Dual Review: Paranormal Activity

Paranormal Activity is a new entry in the Horror film genre. It is an independent film that was made on a reported budget of 15,000. The film is shot from the perspective of the camera that the main male protagonist buys before the film begins. The film takes place over the span of almost a month and tells the story of a new couple that have moved in with each other. We soon learn that strange things have taken place in the house. While the couple are asleep at night the hear strange noises and when they wake up things downstairs are out of place. We soon learn that for the female protagonist, Katie, these strange occurrences are nothing new to her.

Jared's Take: What I like about Paranormal Activity is the fact that it is an independent film that had a low budget and it was still up there wit the big budget films in terms of content. The story was well played and the acting mostly felt natural. Even some of the special effects blew me away. While most Hollywood films rely on special effects to make the movie, this one seems to rely more on the human element. Throughout the movie there is this tension that builds up until the final scene. The final 10 minutes of the movie is where the film really shines.

Since this is a low budget film I will try not to be overly critical of the negatives that this movie brings. The movie fails in the fact that it was way too long. Most of the movie takes place in the couples' bedroom and it is viewed through the camera sitting on the tripod. While this is interesting for the first couple of times it soon becomes tiresome. The human element also runs a little thin as the dialogue soon becomes old and stagnant. I think that Paranormal Activity is a breath of fresh air to the lifeless Horror/Gore genre but it does not deserve all of the hype that it has received so far. The movie failed to scare me at all and it definitely was not the scariest movie ever.

Allan's Take: The best thing about this movie in my opinion is the few moments of genuine suspense. The timing is well done. There is a rather large amount of humor but it fits the story and is not over done. I think that it is also good that this film doesn't seem to glorify anything negative and frowns upon the use of Ouja boards. One thing I was happy to see was the high quality of acting. The fear expressed by the girl seemed genuine. Also the special effects were outstanding and looked real. The sound effects were equally good and at times reminded of the original "The Haunting" (1963).

Onto the negative side. The style of "Paranormal Activity" was once original but no longer is. We were introduced to it about 10 years ago with the "Blair Witch Project" and have seen it more recently with the excellent "Cloverfield". So the idea of seeing a movie completely documentary style no longer carries the same kind of newness with it as it once did. The worse thing about the movie is I felt it is too predictable. About 99% of the time I knew what was coming and therefore never felt scared. This well vary depending on the amount of movies you've seen.

Jared's Rating: Although I personally enjoyed Paranormal Activity, I can't let my feelings affect how I feel it would appeal to others. If you just have to see it then GO NOW, but for everyone that is on the fence...RENT IT.

Allan's Rating: "Paranormal Activity" is not a revolutionary film. It's not worth the super amount of hype it has received. However it is better than many of the genre's movies (the Amityville Horror movies, Haunting in Connecticut). Therefore I'll give it a...RENT IT.

Review - Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

The Vampire's Assistant tells a very interesting story about two best friend high school kids. One is named Daren (Chris Massoglia) who's the bright kid with a good family and a promising future. The other is Steve (Josh Hutcherson) who comes from a less fortunate family that we learn a little about throughout the film. These two guys sneak off to a small circus freak show and consequently get pulled into the world of the undead and a brewing conflict between the vampires (good guys) and the vampanese (bad guys). Our guide through this world is vampire Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly). Along the way we meet interesting characters played by some recognizable actors I wasn't expecting to see. A key thing to point out about the movie is that it is not a true comedy. It does contain some humor but it's equally dramactic.

The Likes: The Vampire's Assistant tells of the most original stories I've seen in a movie in a very loooonnngg time, combining quirky humor with well-placed special fx. All of the characters are wonderful and had a refreshing amount of depth to them. Throughout the movie there is some strong commentary concerning the treatment of people the same as others. Even if some people come across as different. In a way I think this is what this film is about. There is a love story that develops involving Daren but it isn't over done. The length of the film was just right. I never felt bored and never felt there was anything in the movie that was unecessary. The climax was sensational and wasn't just a big fight scene.

The Dislike: The real dislike I had of the movie was the acting of Hutcherson (Steve) wasn't always that great. But not too bad.

Rating: The Vampire's Assistant was a surprise movie for me. It's meant to be the beginning of a series. It could easily be a good trilogy and I hope it is. I'm starting to think of it as the anti-Twilight....GO NOW!!!

Review - The Stepfather

The Stepfather tells the story of a psychotic man named David (Dylan Walsh) obsessed with having the perfect family. It is based on an original film (1987) of the same name. The basic idea and plot is the same as the first...beginning with David leaving his family that he just murdered and then going off and deceiving another single and/or divorced woman .

Allan's Take: This film is well-made and well acted for the most part. Unlike so many movies today, it wasn't over-ridden with humor.

However, it wasn't that scary and not very suspensful either. Besides bringing in modern technology (cell phones, internet) there is really nothing this movie does that the original does not.

Jared's Take: The Stepfather was mildly entertaining in my opinion. The plot was very thin, but very easy to follow. The parts that I really liked were the points in which people began to die, but then again that's what I expected to see. The last five minutes of the movie really had my interest.

Now for the bad. The Stepfather is entirely to long. I expected this to be like a slasher flick and for about 20 minutes of the 1 hour and 46 min movie I got what I expected. I know that the film centers around a man that wants to find the perfect family and when he doesn't he kills them, but some scenes made me wonder why they were in the movie. The dialogue was not great and the end was too short. If the filmmakers had taken out the sappy stuff between the main protagonist and his girlfriend that would have made the movie infinitely better.

Allan's Rating: If you're interested in this type of story there really isn't a reason to not just watch the original when it comes on tv...FX/TBS It

Jared's Rating: For the price that I paid, I didn't get a whole lot of what I wanted. I unlike Allan have not seen the original so I'm not sure how great it was. Although this movie has some redeeming qualities, please don't waste your money...FX/TBS It

Mini Review: Pandorum

Yes I know, this movie has been out for a month or so, but hear me out on this. Pandorum is a science fiction movie of the rarest kind. The film centers around two men who are awoken out of a deep sleep on a mysterious spaceship, the Elysium. The main protagonist Bower is the first to wake and he doesn't remember why he is on the ship. He then wakes up Lt. Payton(Dennis Quaid) and the two set about to find out what happened. Along the way the two find out that mysterious creatures have boarded the ship and are hunting humans. We soon find out the horrible truth of what happened on the Elysium. As I said before Pandorum is a rare gem and deserves a chance. The story is good and as the film's tagline states, "Fear what happens next" and...

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!

Dual Review - Law Abiding Citizen

Law Abiding Citizen follows the unfortunate story of Clyde Shelton(Gerard Butler) after his wife and daughter are killed in a home invasion. The criminals who committed the crime were apprehended but the prosecuting attorney Nick Rice(Jamie Foxx) has cut a deal with one of them. In return for testifying against his cohort one of the criminals only receives three years in prison, while his partner gets sent to death row. The story then picks up ten years later as people who had anything to do with the trial, whether they be the criminals involved or public officials, begin dying mysteriously. We learn early on that Clyde Shelton is behind these heinous acts, the only thing that keeps this from being an open and shut case is the fact that while Clyde is in prison, people are still being murdered. It it Nick's job to find out how and why the body count keeps rising.

Jared's Take: Overall Law Abiding Citizen is one of the best movies that I have seen in the past few months. It is clearly head and shoulders above Butler's last movie Gamer. The story is well told and the pacing is just right. The plot is easy to understand and follow. You are never confused or lost. The acting is all around good and you do find yourself growing attached to each character. Hitting on that I want to comment on how I began feeling sorry for Clyde in the beginning, but by the end, I was ready for him to pay for the crimes he had committed. I was really surprised how this character transformed.

What I didn't like about Law Abiding Citizen is that the ending felt just a little bit too rushed. I have some issues about the time frame for the last couple of minutes of the movie and the teleportation like movements for a couple of characters. Other that that though I have no real complaints about the movie itself.

Allan's Take: What makes Law Abiding Citizen a really good movie is it's a clever commentary on the American justice system and the American Dream itself. Also throuhout the story I could never really figure how the targeted officials were being killed, even though you knew who was behind it all. Like Jared, I thought it was interesting to see the transformation of the Shelton. His change in character poses questions to the audience as to what makes up a 'good guy' and what makes up a 'bad guy'.

I didn't really have any problems with the movie except for Butler getting naked. I didn't need to see that.


Jared' Rating: It's a good movie that tries to point out the problems with our current justice system. Even if you aren't a law abiding citizen, I dare you to

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Allan's Rating: This is a very important movie in my opinion. I could see it being used in a sociology class somewhere. And it's very enteraining as well...

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!