Catfish

2 out of 5 Stars



Nev meets someone online. Then he meets the rest of the family. The family includes a mother, an 8 year old daughter named Abby who paints incredible paintings, a daughter named Megan who begins to flirt with Nev, and a husband named Vince. Things start to seem a little strange so they decide to go visit them up in Michigan. The advertising scheme: Don't Let Anyone Tell You What It Is. Yeah, if they did there would be no movie.

This is supposed to be based on real life events. After Nev is in communications with Angela, the mother, for a while one of his brothers decides to start documenting it. Of course in the end it turns into the movie that was released, somehow picked up by Universal. Without a marketing campaign this movie would have gone nowhere. If you have a little bit of intellect you can figure out where the story is going pretty darn fast. I mean, think about it. Meeting an entire family on facebook who gets along with you? You do the math. It's an intriguing film and makes you want to see it through to the end, unlike the fake documentary style films that have been released. But it's still ridiculous. It's a story that's just not interesting enough to warrant a 90 min. film. It should have been closer to an hour. Sure, it was edited pretty well and it was surprising some of the footage they captured but by the end of the movie there really isn't anything that surprising. It's terribly predictable what happens considering the technological world we live in the parameters that facebook allows. There is nothing to be amazed at here. It is a bit of a cautionary tale about meeting people through social networking but that's about it. Beyond that it's something anybody could have done had they owned a camera and the same event happened to them. The difference? Somehow these guys managed to get a studio to pick it up. Sure there is a bit of a story here but nothing for a feature film. Maybe a short story. It's an intriguing film but certainly not anything great. Far from it. In fact, I think I'll start recording my life now. Maybe something interesting will pop up and I can make thousands off a documentary I get Warner Bros. to pick up.

Saw 3D (aka Saw 7)

"I want to play a game."

1 1/2 out of 5 Stars



I want to play a game. This time, everyone must die. Of course the idea of Jigsaw capturing people and forcing them to play sick games for the purpose of learning a lesson is back. Of course, Jigsaw has been dead since the third movie so others have been doing his dirty work, mainly the former detective Hoffman who has taken up the screen the past couple movies. In this installment Dr. Gordon (from the first film) is back and we open on his escape from the room. Now some time later a man has claimed to be a victim of the Jigsaw traps. There is only one problem. He is a fraud and has written a book that has garnered acclaim as well as a healing support circle. Of course only his agents and lawyers know the truth, other than Jigsaw and his accomplices. Now Hoffman is out to finish the game and end the life of Jigsaw's wife. By the end of this final installment who will survive?

Part of what made the first Saw work so well was that it was a psychological horror film that dealt very little blood. Sure it was still there but in mild doses. More than anything it was images that got into your subconscious that was really effective. Than in the second film half of that was kept while moving in a different direction that involved more blood and more disturbing deaths. Pretty soon each film felt like it was trying to top the last. And somewhere around the fourth film a heavy element of a police investigation came into play, making the films less about the work of the man known as Jigsaw and more about the people being murdered and the "game" being played. Of course in these games everyone could somehow survive, even if there was a consequence to doing so. As long they did the right thing they would survive. Of course someone always died but that didn't mean everyone did. Then in the sixth film the rules changed. Now not everyone could get out alive. Someone had to die. Suddenly the justice was no longer so justified. Of course by then it wasn't really Jigsaw doing the work. It was a legacy that continued on in bloodshed and brutal murder that evolved away from the feeling of Jigsaw's original message. The message of redemption, valuing life, and justice were soon lost beneath ten layers of grotesque gory murders.

Then came along the seventh film which was heavily promoted on the 3D. And it is pointless 3D as well, even though filmed with 3D technology. 3D has quickly become a tiresome fad with films. The more films there are in 3D the less exciting they are. In the end the 3D was most likely necessary for the marketing considering that the only thing left it had going was the fact that this is supposed to be the final chapter. Will this be the final chapter, though? I think so. At least for the Jigsaw storyline. The end of the film wraps up nicely bringing it back full circle. But that doesn't save the film from the tremendous number of flaws that it holds. These films (at least the later ones) have been coined "torture porn." I can see why since every person that dies, or almost does, is tortured in some way and the audience is the voyeur watching the sick display.

Saw 7 takes it too many steps further. The man who is a fraud is brought into a game to face his demons and is set in a number of scenarios where he must save people he knows. There is always that chance someone will survive. Well except for the beginning of the movie when a trap is set up for the entire public to watch in a glass cage and at least one person must die and guts fly at the screen. But even when there is a chance someone could survive no one will. That's just how this movie will play out. No surprise considering how the sixth installment went. So by the end of the film not only must everyone in the game die but so must anyone who could keep the Jigsaw line going. It's a giant pot that mixes a mild dose of psychological horror with the police investigation and a most of the pot with blood and guts. That is, people die every 15 minutes with insides flying and blood spraying. The story just doesn't work. The message is lost. They try too hard to top the last film. It's a film for horror enthusiasts who go to films to see if there is any way to get more grossed out.

What they needed was another film like the first in the franchise. Then it would have been great. The beginning was good. The end was a fitting end. But when you have a terrible middle, you have no movie.

Life As We Know It

3 out of 5 Stars



Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) are set up on a date by their good friends who are married with a young kid. But the date never gets past the car and the two where never supposed to be together again. But they both kept in close touch with the couple and on an unsuspecting night the parents are killed in a car crash and it is soon discovered that they left custody of the child to the two most unlikely people, Holly and Eric.

The film as whole works in its premise and basic storyline. For the most part it's a feel good comedy that borders between a chick flick and a comedy for both genders. It also has a little bit of the flair of an independent feel where there are a good few points that feel a bit depressing, something that big budget Hollywood comedies usually only thrown in near the end of the film. Not so here. Heigl and Duhamel make a pretty good team in this piece and considering how heavily the story relies on the infant I would say they did a pretty good job with filming it. The film really falls a bit with its length and ending. The film could have been a little shorter as it dragged a little at times. And the ending was typical Hollywood happy ending where the two people get together. It works but not as well as it could have with a different ending. These movies always seem to bring the happily ever after ending into play even though sometimes it would work just as well to have a different ending without leaving the audience feeling depressed. This is one of those movies. Overall an enjoyable film but nothing that great.

Paranormal Activity 2

1 out of 5 Stars



Their back with the next most pointless sequel in a history of sequels. Once again the film follows a group of people, this time a family with a baby and a dog, in which things go bump in the night and something intense happens by the end. In this family the mother is actually the sister of the character from the last film and this film is a prequel/sequel. So the events of this one begin before the events of the first one take place. But the reality is that if you've seen the first one, you've basically seen this one, except now there is a dog and a baby. And of course they still pretend like it was a real event.

I personally hate these films. So why did I see it? For the heck of it because I got to for free. But I'm always so bored in these movies. It takes over half the movie for anything to happen and by the time something does I'm too bored to even think about being scared. Probably 85-90% of the movie is watching the mundane events of life (much like watching a home movie) until something (actually quite predictable) happens. That is not my idea of a good movie. If I want to watch a home movie, I'll do that. When I go to the theater I want to see something that takes me out of my life. I want to escape the mundane, not revel in it. Many people are scared by these movies but really they are not that frightening. Not really. Unless you're scared easily but then just about anything could scare you. In reality these movies are terrible. They aren't quality. It's just the new Blair Witch. And documentary style film just doesn't work. Not with the way story needs to be. And if good film = good story. Then documentary style film = bad film because the story always seems to fall flat.

But I think that Roger Ebert puts it quite well in his review:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101022/REVIEWS/101029991

RED

3 out of 5 Stars



RED. Retired Extremely Dangerous. But then the retired agents come out of retirement because the government is trying to cover their tracks for a mishap in Guatemala that the agents knew about. Know these agents must find a way to survive. On top of this one of the agents has met a girl so now they must protect her as well. Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, and Morgan Freeman star in this action thriller.

For the most part this movie is fun. There is a lot of over the top (and completely unrealistic) explosions, super fun fight scenes, and some good wit. But only about the first half of the film really moves well. Then it just starts to really drag. But what really makes this movie worth watching is John Malkovich. Without his character there really isn't much to be saved from this movie other than the fun of fights and explosions. Bruce Willis definitely gives far from his best performance and Morgan Freeman just isn't in the movie enough. Overall it was enjoyable but only an alright film.

My Soul To Take

2 1/2 out of 5 Stars



My Soul To Take is the new horror from Wes Craven, the same man who brought us the original Nightmare On Elm Street. In a small town a killer known as the Riverton Ripper was killed many years ago and now seven teenagers who were born on the same day as the killer's death begin to drop dead. Now Bug, the miracle child that survived after the killer attacked his wife, must try and stop him.

This movie feels a good bit like what Wes Craven might have done with Nightmare On Elm Street had he made it today, except of course that there is a different story. It's very much a horror movie with a slasher feel. The movie as a whole is not that great. The writing isn't very good and at times it is downright cheesy. At the same time that is precisely how some of these movies used to feel except nowadays they don't work as well on audiences. The acting most of the time is mediocre. But at the same time the movie still works on a level that makes it fun and entertaining. There may be a lot of flaws but it feels like a movie that isn't meant to be flawless but rather enjoyed for what it is. So sit back, suspend belief, and enjoy the ride.

The Social Network

4 out of 5 Stars



The Social Network is quite an incredible film. The story follows the creation of what has become one of today's biggest phenomena, facebook. Jesse Eisenberg stars in this intriguing drama that follows the story through a court case. It is definitely the most relevant movie to our time and very well constructed. But it's also not the kind of movie one should go into expecting a lot of action or a super fast paced movie. It drags a couple times but overall succeeds in so many ways. It's fun, it's witty, and the young generation will completely relate to it. It's definitely worth seeing.

Let Me In

3 out of 5 Stars




It wasn't too long ago that Let The Right One In, the Swedish film coming of age story about a young boy who befriends a vampire, came out. Now there is this film. This is Let The Right One In, American style. There are some changed elements with how the vampire moves on screen, the cast is different, and there is a bit more of an attempt to turn the film into what other American horror would be, over the top intense. But the reality is that this film is creepy, not necessarily scary, with a great coming of age story. At times it is intense but most of the time the film isn't trying to scare people. But the films flaws really are the American elements and remaking a film so soon after it came out. Especially since probably over half the film is done exactly the same way as the first one. If you've seen Let The Right One In you've seen Let Me In. If you haven't seen either it really doesn't make much difference which you see first though I still think the Swedish original is better. I liked some of the acting a little more in this one but that's about it. Overall great story but an completely unnecessary remake.

Case 39

3 out of 5 Stars



Renee Zellweger stars in this horror thriller about a woman who rescues a young girl who's parents are trying to murder. But of course when the woman adopts the girl she discovers there is something unnatural about her and people close to her begin dying. This is a pretty predictable film but there are some fun thrills along the way. It's not terrible but nothing great. It definitely rests in the middle. However Renee Zellweger doesn't really work that well in a horror thriller. But Bradley Cooper does give a pretty good supporting role. Although the ending in cliche there is some pretty good stuff in the middle.