Hellraiser: Revelations

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This is the ninth film in the series of Hellraiser, one of my all time favorite horror film series. This story centers around Emma, a girl from a wealthy family who has suffered a terrible loss after her brother and fiancee disappeared and are assumed to be murdered. All that remains is a bag that they had carried with them that mainly contained a video camera and the box. Emma's curiosity and her disgruntled anger cause to begin seeking answers as to their disappearance. When her brother returns, Steven returns, things quickly turn violently chaotic. 


"Pleasure and pain indivisible." This film was directed by Victor Garcia, and appeared to have no association with Clive Barker-the original creator of Hellraiser. The Hellraiser films are well for changing as it is handed from director to director, and from century to century. This film naturally takes on its own form, and tries to pay homage to the original two Hellraiser films. With that in mind, this film is only 75 minutes long with two different stories running simultaneously together. If you have not seen the other films this one will be just confuse you badly. Much of the back story that creates Pinhead, and their world has been explored through various films, and this one tries to combine all of them. There is a general creepiness to it. Something about it carries the sense of fear, and a curious desire. The visual special effects attempted to go for more realism, but it could only be carried so far. The various film styles used was great, moments from a video recorder, moments from memories, and the filming sequences happening presently are a great mix. The editing of this film really helped to keep it afloat as a general horror film. 


The acting was mediocre. There were moments when it was great, and then there were the moments when it made the film kind of drag. Tracey Fairaway played the leading role of Emma. She is able to portray sexuality amazingly well, but didn't place the appropriate emotions behind here lines. The editing helped her acting a lot. This is a good film for her to establish an acting career away from modeling. This is the first Hellraiser to bring in a new actor for Pinhead; Stephan Smith Collins. He did a great job stepping into the shoes of Pinhead, although nothing can compare to Doug Bradley's performance. He came close to being almost too over the top, but managed to pull it back before it got to far. His lines were great, but he lacked that certain compuser Bradley originally had. Jay Gillespie played the role of Nico Bradley. He is the character who sets out to find new desires, and takes it to the extreme by opening the box. He is great in this general role, but it wasn't fully explored or explained. Nick Eversman, Steven Craven, is great as an actor in this film. He boarders being too over the top, but it works for his character. Essentially, this film took several unknown actors and placed them together to create a horror film. 


I give this film a 5 out of 10. It was a great attempt, but a major element was missing from it. Too much was left unexplained (unless you saw the other films). The actors were too new to have any real experience in acting, but are off to a great start. 


Answer to last blog: The island used for the sequel The Lost World: Jurassic Park (2) was Isla Sorna.


Que: Who was the original leading actress who survived the franchise?


Clare Higgins
Paula Marshall
Valentina Vargas
Ashley Laurence

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (2)

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This is the sequel to the first film, Jurassic Park; and is based off the novel The Lost World: Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton. Dr. Ian Malcolm finds himself once again summoned to an island because of John Hammond. He discovers that one of his girlfriends went to another island; Site B. Ian sets out to rescue her with a small team, but as InGen sends in its team things quickly become awry. Site B begins to reveal it's darker side to allowing dinosaurs to live without fences or boundaries. 


This sequel was directed by Steven Spielberg, and the screenplay was written by Michael Crichton and David Koepp. This film was mainly carried by Spielberg's ambition, and it worked moderately well.  The film became too ambitious and then forced the film into a grander scale. It also brought in several new cast members (including new dinosaurs). In several it became too grand scale, and since there was no apparent fear of failure, it hurt the film. This didn't allow for audience's to a deep connection to the story, or characters. Since there was no connection there wasn't as much fear, or tension. The animation was pushed further because of the larger scale. Since there was so much to animate in sequence there wasn't time to really push the envelope of CGI like the first one did to create realism within the dinosaurs. This can happen when there's too much digital. (The enhancements to the newly released Jurassic Park: Lost World did not help.) It also didn't help that much of this film was created as spur of the moment idea's. A few random ideas being added is good, but too much means that appropriate planning can't happen. To me this film came off more as a satire than a deep dramatic science fiction film. There are homages to the first film, and then there is the comedy of hinting at humour of Godzilla and classic movies. 


However, the idea of pulling in more dinosaur species is brilliant for a sequel. It's worth it to see the new species. It was also great to see these dinosaurs doing more interactions with actual human beings. The human-dinosaur-interaction was more than touch and get eaten. It was also great to create a baby T-Rex with his two parents. It gave the dinosaurs a story apart from being destructive creations. The large landscape background was very much like nature photography. It created the large scope of this new world. Apart from making the velociraptors too colorful, their movements were better done in this film.

The acting is great for this film, but none of the characters are really explored. They're introduced and then it ends there. Jeff Goldblum returns to his role of Dr. Ian Malcolm. He becomes the leading character for the sequel. His character is the same only placed within a different situation. He is good in this role, but sometimes his character can become too much. Juilanne Moore plays the role of Dr. Sarah Harding. She is great contrasting Ian in this film. She also adds humour to the film. Pete Postlewaite plays the role of Roland Tembo. He stands out as a man with a single minded intention of hunting a T-Rex. Otherwise he's very heroic even if his character isn't further explored. Vince Vaughn, Nick Van Owen, is the character that you can never tell who he really is. First he's just a photographer, then he turns out to be a secret weapon sent in by Hammond to defeat InGen, and then he turns out to be the un-expectant savior, and then he just disappears. Vanessa Lee Chester, Kelly Curtis Malcolm, is Ian's adopted daughter. She sneaks her way into the misadventure to the island, and finds that her choice was wrong. Her character is kind of bratty, and is never really given a chance to be otherwise. Arliss Howard, Peter Ludlow, is the character made to replace John Hammond. He fails to live up to John Hammond's idealistic dreams, and eventually carries his own dreams too far.

I give this film a 8 out of 10. It is a good film, but there was too much material that didn't get worked through accordingly. The lack of connection kept the film from being truly terrifying. It is great to see more dinosaurs and there increased interactions with humans.

Answer to last blog: The original first Jurassic Park was released in theaters in 1993.

Que: What is the name of the island (Site B) that is featured in this film?

Isla Nublar
Isla Laos
Isla Serine
Isla Sorna

Jurassic Park

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This film is based off the novel Jurassic Park written by Michael Crichton. Dr. Alan Grant, Dr. Ellie Sattler, and Dr. Ian Malcolm are told to explore a new experimental wildlife theme park to help aid John Hammond against the lawyers and investors. To test the idea of how the park would be viewed among popular audience's Hammond brings in his grandchildren Lex Murphy and Tim Murphy. Everything begins as an amazing adventure into the past, but just as quickly turns deadly.

This was a film 65 million years in the making... a corny marketing line, but effective. "Welcome, to Jurassic Park" is a much better tagline in my opinion. This film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and the screenplay was written by Michael Crichton and David Koepp. This film has recently had a major make-over and is re-released on blu-ray and DVD for new audiences. This film began something so amazing for its time that it still puts some modern films to shame. It also began the popularity of CGI technology in films. The film angle's chosen through editing, and the filming process, were great for building suspense and amazing looking animals. The small detailed special effect of the water moving as something giant approaches is iconic. The T-Rex has become legendary as has the Velociraptor. This film isn't a monster film, but is instead a science fiction that is still pertinent to this day (sheep cloning). There are small inconsistencies within the story, but it's small details that you have to pay attention to. The T-Rex is oddly placed within the small segments of story in that during the car ride it shouldn't have stopped in front of the T-Rex pin because the pin wasn't that far away, and the T-Rex randomly appears inside the large visitor's center. I can't say how loyal it is to the novel because I haven't read it. I was glad to see how much involvement the author had on the film though. I also enjoyed how this film kept up to date with the theories revolving around dinosaurs.

The acting is great, but the characters can sometimes become too much. Sam Neill plays the male leading role of Dr. Alan Grant. He digs up dinosaur bones, and is an expert in dinosaur theory. He is great playing the role of a child hating scientist. Laura Dern plays the leading female role of Dr. Ellie Sattler. She is the contrast to Grant's personality. She creates a really heartfelt character that audience's cheer for. Jeff Goldblum plays the role of Dr. Ian Malcolm. He is a scientist of chaos theory, and was brought in by the lawyer as another source of verification for the park's "safety".  His character can be annoying at times because he never stops talking, but he is also a voice of logical reason. Richard Attenborough is John Hammond. He is the man with the large wallet and an unobtainable dream to create something never seen before. He can become a bit too obsessively over the top, but it does work for his character. Ariana Richards, Lex Murphy, is humorous to watch. She is the comical relief for this film, and a change to children female film roles. Joseph Mazzello, Tim Murphy, is the adorable little brother that audience's get attached to. Bob Peck, Robert Muldon, is the gamekeeper of the island. He is the character who audience's enjoy watching, and establishes the animals as wild animals (like tiger, hyena's, etc.). Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Arnold, has a very memorable small role. Wayne Knight plays the villain role of Dennis Nedry. He is the reason that Jurassic Park falls into chaos. His character is slimy, and unlikeable, so that when he is eaten the audience's enjoys it.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It was an amazing film for its time. It established something that had never been seen before in film. They faced several challenges in this film, and surpassed them. There are a few small inconsistencies within the story line, and sometimes the characters are over done.

Answer to last blog: Rachelle Lefevre played the original role of victoria in the first two Twilight films. (The role was given to Bryce Dallas in the third installment.)

Que: What year was this film first released in theaters?

1993
1999
1995
1998

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

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This is the third film in the Twilight Twilight; based off the Eclipse novel written by Stephenie Meyer. This film continues after New Moon; where Bella is facing her decision of wanting to become a vampire and the choice of marrying Edward Cullen. Victoria is also still hunting Bella in this film, but a new problem emerges. An army is being created-an army of newborn vampires that are in a nearby city causing trouble, and appear to desire Bella's blood. Bella must also fight off the advances of Jacob Black. (Lots of drama.)

This still isn't a love triangle. For it to be a love triangle one person must be in a relationship with two people simultaneously. In this case Edward is Bella's choice, and that's it. She might like Jacob Black, but her ultimate love is Edward Cullen. Anyway, this film was directed by David Slade who is a very dark dark director. This is a slight change from his horror films in that their is romance a little gore. There is a vampire fight scene, but  no actual gore in it. This film, story, wasn't made for classic horror movie vampire, or werewolf, fans. However, there is plenty of romance in this film to keep romance drama fans more than satisfied. This film might also rub some fans of the original Twilight film the wrong way, because it is darker-that is if you haven't read the novels. It has more action than the other films, and much more dark sequences. The emo-techno teenage music isn't overplayed in this film like New Moon. It's done at just the right moments except for the song Let's Get Lost. It's kind of awkward for the upcoming scenes sequences. The color scheme mixed the two worlds, as the story progressed, of the Cullen vampire's and the Quileute werewolves. Dark browns, and cool greys were common color pallets for this film, and it really added to the feeling of the film. There is use of a lot of character's and back story that it can become confusing if someone were to just come in and watch this film alone. This film also further explains some of the other stories of the Cullen family members, and the story of the Quileute. The Quileute story was true to the novels except for the beginning. They avoided the spirit walker concept. (I find it unfortunate that audience's want to cheer for their characters so much that all angels of these stories aren't really examined from all angels. Such as examining their story from the point of view of the vampire lovers.) However, I enjoyed how true it was to the novel franchise.

The acting in this film is better, but the characters are much more exaggerated. Kristen Stewart returns to her role of Bella Swan. There are still moments where her lines can be dry, and moments where she's too over the top, but she is much better in this film. Her character is apparently much more slutty falling back on teenage hormones; which is how she was in the novels. That does annoy some audiences, and I'm sure makes some parents clinch at the idea of teenage hormones. It is unfortunate that it appears that Billy Burke, Charlie Swan, has slightly altered his acting to better fit Kristen's acting style to better appear as her father. He manages to keep his character entertaining though. Robert Pattinson also returns for his role as Edward Cullen. He is still great with subtle facial features that makes you feel his character. For the first time in the series he does something that isn't modern; he is abstinent before marriage. He still doesn't do the classic style of speech, but his character is held true from the novels. Taylor Lautner continues his role of Jacob Black. His character is slightly different from the novel. In this novel he was pompous, but in the film he was just whiny. (Wah: I want my toy. Lol.) He does his job as an actor creating the character who appears to be an obstacle in the love of Bella and Edward. Jackson Rathbone really comes out as his character Jasper Cullen. His personality comes out with the story of his becoming a vampire. It was also amazing to hear him slip into an texan accent with ease. Julia Jones comes out as Leah Clearwater, the only female werewolf. She has a small role, but it is prominent because of the attitude she places behind it. It stands out amongst the other werewolf characters.

Dakota Fanning really pulls out a character who is truly sadistic, and manipulative, in the role of Jane. There is no mistaking her character. Bryce Dallas Howard appears in this role as Victoria. This was risky because a big villain got replaced after two films had been made. Luckily, this was well done by the actress. Her character is presented as an innocent woman who is terrified of being attacked. It does get over done at moments, but at the ending fight scene there is the same familiarity of Victoria from the other films. That change from segment to segment is amazingly well done for the actress. Xavier Samuel plays the role of Riley Biers. He was an unknown actor to popular film audience's. He creates the character trapped by love. He is the terrifying puppet that controls the fate of the newborn vampires. There wasn't much natural flow in his acting, but the effect is still present. Jodelle Ferland plays a different role as Bree. Instead of being a monster villain, she is the girl trapped in this world and unable to makes sense of it. She really pulls out the innocence of the character.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It is a good film-particularly if you're fan of the franchise and if you've seen the other films. This film takes a different turn in the series by including more action in it.

Answer to last blog: Director Chris Weitz also directed the film, based off a novel, The Golden Compass.

Que: Who was the original actress who played the role of Victoria? (Have to see if you remember)

Kirsten Dunst
Rachelle Lefevre
Ashley Greene
Scarlett Johansson

I had to include both boo covers since they are the same story running simultaneously. Enjoy!

Twilight Saga: New Moon

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This sequel, also based off the Twilight's sequel novel New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, continues the story of love relationship between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. In this sequel complications are shown during Bella's birthday party where she receives her infamous paper cut. Jasper Cullen, adopted brother of Edward, attacks her without being able to control his blood thirst. Edward makes a decision to dump Bella, and force her to continue living life as if he hadn't existed. Bella turns to her old native american friend (from the Quileute Tribe) named Jacob Black. Jacobs' affections become apparent, and Bella's emotions are mixed. When Jacob leaves for her protection she seeks to learn why, and learns that he's a werewolf. She also learns that werewolves' murder vampires, and are currently hunting Victoria (a villain from the first story). 


This film ultimately showed who in the audience had actually read the novels. The ending scene: The vote is over, Bella victorious, Edward gives his epic stipulation, and boom it cuts off. Way too many people went gasp at the end. Anyway, this film was directed by Chris Weitz and takes a more dramatic twist that none of the other stories have. This film was created for a special audience, teenage and not classic vampire/werewolf horror movie fans. This film opens up the universe of Twilight by brining in werewolves' and the Volturi (a different vampiric family living in Italy). The story is hard to watch at first because break-up's are hard, but then the story becomes nothing but the break-up and it becomes overkill. At the same time it really plays to teenage relationship drama. This story also creates the supposed love triangle. In truth it never really existed; what is being used here is something different. Bella has always made it clear that she chooses Edward; therefore he's not threatened in anyway with losing her. Bella's feelings for Jacob do exist, but it's like a secondary love. Anyway, this film was edited differently but remains true to the novels. It uses more earth like colors, and creates a different world for the werewolves' to inhabit. In the world of the Volturi, everything is very gothic pristine and a contrast of violent colors. The music is good, and it is similar to the music in the first film, but there is too much music. It's hard to notice at first though. There is more violence in this film, but it's nothing major. Most of the blood is caused by Bella's need for adrenaline rushes. The major violence is hinted at as they're leaving the Volturi. The vampire's are well done graphically-continued from the first film-and the glitter effect was toned down thankfully. The werewolves' were well done graphically, expect for their teeth. There was a friendly quality to them, and yet also deadly. (Like petting a showtiger.)

The acting was much better in this film than the first. The other Cullen family members are further explored slightly, as new characters are introduced. Kristen Stewart returns to her role as Bella Swan. She has improved in this film, but much of her problems reoccur. Her dramatic acting is overdone, and some of her other lines are dry. Robert Pattinson also returns to his role as Edward Cullen. He is still great representing Edward-for the short time that he appears. He shows the the pain of the character in subtle facial gestures. Taylor Lautner returns in this film for his more developed role of Jacob Black. Half way through the film he receives a character make-over as his character changes. It's also funny that he takes off his shirt once and never wears it again! He is good in this role creating a character that attempts to oppose Edward in every way imaginable. He is the contrast to Edward's character in this film. Graham Greene appears on screen, as Harry Clearwater, a few times but leaves a comical impression. It is unfortunate that he is introduced only as an expendable character. Ashley Greene appears more in this film as Alice Cullen in this film. She is amazing in the role of the curious future telling vampire, and Bella's best friend. Rachelle Lefevre returns in her role of Victoria, and becomes the leading villain for this series. She doesn't appear enough to get any real feel for her treachery. She does give an intense presence for the few moments she's on screen. Dakota Fanning does an amazing job playing the role of Jane in this film. She creates a character who is truly sadistic, and yet is trapped within an innocent body of a child (which just adds on a level of creepy). In the short time she appears on screen her character is fully prominent. Michael Sheen plays the role of Aro. He is a unique choice, but has had experience with vampire films. He is great in this role of insane leadership among vampires, and also manages to establish a character in a short amount of time.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It's a good story-even if its not my favorite. It develops more on the world of Twilight, and remains true to the novels. The acting is greatly approved as well.

Answer to last blog: Melissa Rosenberg has been the screenplay writer for all of the Twilight films.

Que: What other novel based film as director Chris Weitz directed?

The Golden Compass
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Spiderwick Chronicles

Twilight

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In this film adaptation from the highly popular novel series Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, we follow the story of Bella Swan. She finds herself uprooted from her life in Phoenix with her mom to the small town of Forks (in Washington) to live with her father Charlie Swan. Starting a new school opens a curious fascination with the Cullen family. After a few near death experiences Edward Cullen falls deeply in love with Bella, and in which begins their peculiar and turbulent  relationship.

Okay, I started watching the series because Breaking Dawn comes out next month-yay! Now, everyone knows this is based off a novel, but the question is how many poeple have actually read the series? Seriously, in theaters I'm always hearing people acting shocked when they watched the film when really it's almost a clone of the novel. There are some things changed to better fit film time, but it wasn't much. This film's director was an unknown director named Catherine Hardwicke (who is now very popular due to this film). She did a great job in bringing to life the world of Twilight, and filled the film with subtle details that you have to watch more than once to catch. This film became a generation marker as you can tell by the Twi-Hearts who cheer when they see either Edward or Jacob appear on screen. There is some violence in this film, but its not full of the traditional vampire gore that is used in most other films. If your a fan of horror movie vampires then you probably won't like this film. The effects in this film are great except one-vampires sparkle. The gem effect was way too overdone, and made Edward look like he was caught in a glitter explosion. The special effects that made the vampires vampiric (speed, agility, etc.) was well done, and cleverly devised. This film really created the landmark that needed to be created so the film could carry on into sequels, and expand on its universe.

The acting is great in this film. They could've found a better actress to portray Bella Swan, Kristen Stewart. She is good, but she comes off too teenage angst at times. She also always speaks in a constant monotone, so that some of her lines come off as dry. There are some times when she also appears to go over the top. Editing really saved her character a lot, except on one area. There are moments when she is clumsy, and then there are moments (like when she's in climbing through the tree branches-albiet a great romantic scene) when she has perfect balance and grace. Robert Pattinson turned out to be a great choice for Edward Cullen. He does the first job of getting girls to whistle when he comes on screen, but he doesn't act like a vampire from 1918 who is very wise. Apart from not acting the era he does great at showing a the character's internal pain and suffering, and the character's complete obsessed with Bella Swan. His face is full of very subtle facial emotions. Billy Burke, Charlie Swan, is an amazing choice for playing Bella's father. He makes his role really memorable by inserting moments of fatherly personality. Cam Gigandet plays the role of James, the leading villain. He creates a slimy villain who is fun to hate. He has a cool calm to his villainy, and it even shows in his face. (P.S. His eyes are always a solid black.) Rachelle Lefevre, Victoria, doesn't stand out in this film other than she's James girlfriend. Edi Gathegi, Laurent, really pulls over the novel's character persona-the assumed leader with a calm cool head. However, he again doesn't really stand out in this film.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! I really enjoyed the novels and I enjoyed watching the films to. I will admit that there is something unexplainably addicting about this franchise. All the elements were there to make a great film.

Answer to last blog: Actress Evangelina Lily starred in the popular television series Lost.

Que: Who has been the screenplay writer for the entire series of Twilight?

Melissa Rosenberg
Stephenie Meyer
Craig Titley

Ron Clements

Real Steel

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This film follows the story of a once great boxer forced out of the ring by the changing of times. In the near future, robots fight in boxing matches to accommodate the public's fascination with gore and violence. After a failed boxing match with Ambush and a bull he discovers he has a long lost son. He agree's to take the child for a few months while trying to continue his failed attempts at finding and using robot boxers. 


This film was directed by Shawn Levy. This is a different film from his other previous film projects. It is well film, and edited. The computer generated robots were well done for this film. Real Steel was amazingly done. His stylings were created to make the character a sympathetic under dog that audiences could cheer for. The story is reminiscent of Rocky, but with a science fiction twist. The plot is unique and imaginative. There is an unanswered confusing question of Real Steel; is he a pure robot, or is he a shadow robot with human emotions? The actors were good and had good chemistry, but the characters were unusual. The slim ball was the leading hero for this film. The foster parents for the child, Max Kenton, were out of place characters and actors. This is also a unconventional sport's film, so it does play a specific audience. 


Hugh Jackman plays the leading role of Charlie Kenton. Charlie was a boxer who was forced out of the boxing ring. He finds his former gory in finding robots and boxing them in failed matches. Hugh is a great actor in this role. He turns a slim ball into someone that can be cheered for. Dakota Goyo plays the role of Max Kenton, Charlie's son. Now the trouble with child actors is that you either like them, or you hate them. Dakota looks like a younger version of Justin Bieber. He is a great actor who makes it believable that he is Charlie's son. He can be annoying because of his stubbornness, but is adorable to watch. Evangelina Lily plays the supporting role of Bailey Tallet. She is entertaining, but her character wasn't fully explored through the film. The film was mainly centered around Charlie and Max, so most of the other characters didn't spend much time being portrayed in the film. Like the foster parents. They appeared mostly just to fill space. When the foster mother should've argued about Max's safety, and having him being sold, she just stood there and smiled.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It has a great story plot, even with the few small inconstancies. It is a great story of the under dog fighting against all odds, and coming out on top. This film has a realism to it that isn't used in most modern films.

Answer to last blog: George A. Romero's first film was Night of the Living Dead.

Que: What television show has Evangelina Lily starred in?

Supernatural
Hero's
Lost
Desperate Housewives

Diary of the Dead

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This film follows the story of a group of college students (Pittsburg) as they try to survive the zombie apocalypse. During the chaos Jason Creed decides to film the entire series of events as they unfold in hopes of delivering the truth to a popular mass audience. 


This film was directed by George A. Romero-the zombie master! This is a very different outlook on the beginning of the zombie apocalypse outbreak. It also takes a questionable look on the media, on popular culture, and on the human species in general. It's film style is shot from hand held camera's, and video feeds from the internet and the cell phones, and surveillance camera's. This adds a certain style of realism to the horror genre that has grown in popularity. This film style can be annoying to some film goers. This film is definitely filmed for a specific audience-the zombie horror audiences.  Since this film is more focused on the human race and popular culture their aren't many zombies. The zombie's are a secondary side note that pushes the characters into uncertain choices. 


The acting was good. It propelled the conflicts that mankind would face in their destruction. Michelle Morgan takes the leading narrative role of Debora Moynihan. She will step in with side commentary during random segments of the film. Her character also highly develops through out the story. Morgan is a very convincing actress for this style of film. Joshua Close plays the secondary leading role of Jason Creed. He was the character who initially began the filming project and is the one who carries much of the story (film wise). Todd Schroeder plays the role of Brody. He is the film professor that tags along with the students during this outbreak. He is a voice of reason, and he is also the dark voice. He is an amazing actor in this role.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It is unique to the zombie genere, and explores many nuances that mankind would possibly face in a zombie apocalypse.

Answer to last blog: Kristen Bell was the leading actress for the remake of Pulse in 2006.

Que: What was George A. Romero's first film?

The Crazies
Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Knightriders

Pulse (Kairo)

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This Japanese film follows two different stories simultaneously; Ryosuke Kawashima and Michi Kudo. Ryosuke is a college student student learning about the dangers of the internet, and Michi is a salesperson at Sunny Plant Sales who is trying to figure out why all her friends are mysteriously disappearing.

This film was written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa in 2001-later remade by Wes Craven in 2006. The story has a great lead in, but then begins to tapper off into confusion. The separation of the two stories isn't easily distinguished, and there is a lot of unanswered questions. The connection of what the forbidden room is to what is shown on the internet is confusing. However, the idea in general is very imaginative. The filming and editing of the ghosts was great, and very creepy. This film doesn't have jump in your seat scares, but it is very creepy. The acting was standard for a Japanese film.

I give this film a 6 out of 10 stars! It is a great idea, but I didn't get the story. There was a small connection with the characters. The ghost sequences were very creepy.

Answer to last blog:

Que: Who was the leading actress for Wes Craven's 2006 remake?

Sarah Michelle Gellar
Jessica Alba
Kristen Bell
Naomi Watts

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

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This fourth sequel to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, based off the Disneyland ride attraction, picks up where the the third ended. Jack Sparrow is setting out to find the Fountain of Youth without a ship and a crew. He finds a crew through Angelica Teach, a woman who began as his impostor. Through her Jack finds himself captive aboard Blackbeard's ship; Queen Anne's Revenge. Jack quickly learns of that a ritual involving a mermaids tears and a human sacrifice, needs to be used in order to achieve immortality.


Okay, I kept the description short, but it in no way covers all the material used in this film. This is the first of the film's to be directed by a new director, Rob Marshall (all other films were previously directed by Gore Verbinski). The new director created a new influence for the film's franchise. A lot of material was presented in rapid succession. Which unfortunately, left a lot of open material that could've been explored more in depth. However, the fast paced action was good for the film's style and character development. The action was also unique from the other films in that there is more imagination in them. Since this film had a new director, in several aspects, it felt like it's own film. It wasn't the same as the original three, but it felt like the opening to new story ground. A lot of the original cast did not return for this film, and this-being the first film without the majority of the original cast-feels empty. There are other characters that are used to take the place of the missing characters, but its not the same. The story plot is amazing. It's got several surprising plot twists and a deep story. There is also use of a scene from the ride that was not used in any of the other films, and I was glade to see it. However, reusing a cheap version of pirate zombies didn't really serve much of a purpose. However, heavy religious people should be prepared for the sarcastic religious comments, and ideals, that are present in the story. The zombies also failed to live up to the reputation that was presented in the first pirates film. 


The acting is good, but there is one emotion missing. That deep passionate love, or the sultry love, is missing from the character's in a love interest. Every other emotion is present, and is represented amazingly. In an odd way though, the original character styles were changed around. Sparrow is no longer obsessed with the Black Pearl, and is fighting for the act of love. Barbossa is the one fighting to avenge the Black Pearl. Johnny Depp plays the now leading role of Jack Sparrow once again returning in to the film to only carry his character on in sequels. Whereas the other films followed Orlando Bloom's character, Will Turner, as the main character. This film's story is led by Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp does great in this film, as he always does. He took what could've been a horrible character-if they had gotten the wrong actor-and turned into something memorable. Penelope Cruz plays his female opposite, Angelica Teach. Angelica was about to become a nun, but was tainted by Sparrow. Years later, she is the daughter of the infamous captain Black Beard. She is a great actress, and creates a fiery character persona for this film. However, there just didn't feel to be any true sultry passion between her and Sparrow. There was emotions, but not that deep passion that was supposed to be existant. Geoffrey Rush returns to the role of Barbossa. He does good in this film, but his character is completely different. His entire character change makes the film feel strange. Ian McShane plays the villainous role of Black Beard. He does amazing in this role. There is a true sense that everyone is expendable if they are in the way-or are troublesome. Sam Clafin plays the role of Philip. Philip is the preaching captive aboard the ship, but is kept alive because of Angelica's beliefs. Astrid Berges-Frisbey plays the role of Syrena. She is the mermaid taken captive for the purposes of the ritual. She is unknown to American film audiences. Both actors managed to achieve great starting role for acting. However, since they are new they lacked the experience that exists among the other actors. There is a sense of desire, but not love between them. 


I give this film a 9 out of 10 stars! It has a great plot, and story idea. Unfortunately, it was represented as too much too fast. The emotion of love is missing, but the character persona's are amazing. 


Answer to last blog: Actress Danielle Panabaker became known to horror film audiences for her role of Jenna from 2009's Friday the 13th. 


Que: What country is actress/model Astrid Berges-Frisbey most popular?


France
Germany
Russian
Spain

(John Carpenter's) The Ward

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!


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This film follows the story of Kristen, a girl who is forced into a mental clinic after being captured by police officers while burning down a farmhouse. She didn't have any memories of why, or how, she wound up there but knows she's not crazy. She kept in confinement with four other girls; Emily, Sarah, Zoey, and  Iris. She finds herself in Tammy's old room, a girl who disappeared. Kristen soon finds herself face to face with the ghost of Alice who is haunting the ward. In her fight for survival she begins to discover the secrets of the ward.

This film was directed by legendary horror filmmaker John Carpenter. This is a comeback film for Carpenter; besides the Halloween franchise. He does a great job in manipulating the film's story, so that you never fully know what is happening until the very end. There are several twists in the plot development-which is good for horror. The music choice is creepy, and fits very well with the story. I really enjoyed the creative credit opening for this film. Using shattered glass that contains pictures of patients who had been trapped in the mental institutions, and the tests they had to endure during their stay. However, the ending with the last jump scare has become way over done in horror films. It does play off the theme of Alice falling down the rabbit hole which is slightly overdone, but is cool story wise. It doesn't bring anything new to the horror genre, and plays to audience's that enjoy these style films. It also isn't really jaw dropping scary, but is more creepy than anything else.

There are moments when the acting was slightly vague in emotion, but the editing kept it together. I think that this was a cast of unknown girls, to popular film audiences, who are beginning their acting careers. Amber Heard plays the leading role of Kristen. This is a great film to get her acting career established as an individual actress who can do leading roles, and not just a secondary character role. Mamie Gummer played the role of Emily, one of the girls trapped in the ward. She does a great job creating a non-violent character who is crazy. It is hard to tell if she really is crazy, or if she is sane and pretending to be crazy. Danielle Panabaker played the role of Sarah. She plays the role of the girl-always seen in horror-who always tries to date the guys around and is the prettiest of them all. She does great in this role. Lyndsy Fonseca plays the role of Iris. She is good in her role, and creates a character who is best represented by her sketch notebook. Laura Leigh plays the role of Zoey. She is great in this role of a the crazy little girl trapped in an adult body. Jillian Kramer plays the role of ghost Alice. She does a good job creating a sympathetic creepy villain.

I give this film a 9 out of 10 stars! It's a good horror film, but it doesn't bring anything really new to the genre. The actress' are getting their careers established in the acting industry, and this is a good starting film for them. However, it fails to be truly terrifying, but has a great story plot line.

Answer to last blog:

Que: What role made actress Danielle Panabaker known to modern popular horror film audiences?

Judy (The Crazies-2010)
Nancy Holbrook (A Nightmare on Elm Street-2010)
Annie Brackett (Halloween-2007)
Jenna (Friday the 13th-2009)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

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This recent film adaptation from the famous mystery novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. This story follows the story of England's famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his stalwart companion Dr. John Watson. Holmes is facing drastic changes in his life as Watson is moving out and getting married to Mary Morstan. While facing these changes he is face-to-face with a new mystery. Lord Blackwood re-arises from the grave, and is quickly turning London upside down with fear. To top it all off, Holmes receives a visit from an old criminal fling Irene Adler who appears to be way over her head in this mystery.

This film was directed by Guy Ritchie known for his British films. I enjoyed the film style for this film. It created an image of an early 1900 industrial London. The film's editing process really makes everything tie in together, and yet leaves you with a building mystery until the very end when all secrets are revealed. The music adds an English Scottish feel to the film. There are moments when Holmes analyzes his ideas for attack, but this is only really done twice and only really emerges when he is in full control of the situation. There is a lot of small things that audiences probably won't notice the first few times watching the film. All small details can get annoying to some people, but to others is highly enjoyable. I can't say how loyal it is to the classic novels, because I haven't read any of them. I have heard that it focuses more on action than the novels tended to. The action does tend to overpower the mystery solving elements of the story, but it also compliments them for cinematic purposes.

Robert Downey Jr. was born to play the leading role of Sherlock Holmes. His general neurotic acting in other films proves to be an amazing fit for this film. He creates a believable character full of 'unconventional' heart, and unusual detective skills of analyzation. Jude Law plays the role of Dr. John Watson does an amazing playing the sane character who keeps Holmes under control, and follows him on all of Holmes misadventures. Rachel McAdams plays the role of Irene Adler. Her character is kind of oddly placed adding moer conflict to the story, but her character carries on the story to the upcoming sequel. There are moments when I could've sworn she looked like a younger version of Helena Bonham Carter. Anyway, she is amazing as the rebellious thief who manages to outsmart Holmes with her cunning intellect. Mark Strong plays is Lord Blackwood the villain who creates the challenging mystery for Holmes. He makes a highly believable villain whose character changes the more Holmes discovers about the mystery.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It's action sequences were well done, and the filming style really creates the appropriate atmosphere for the film mystery. The actors have an amazing chemistry in this film.

Answer to last blog: Actress Saoirse Ronan starred in the dramatic film The Lovely Bones as Susie Salmon.

Que: What film directed by Guy Ritchie featured the actor Mark Strong?

RocknRolla
The Eagle
Snatch
Cold Mountain

Hanna

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilerd!


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This is a chase thriller film featuring a teenage female heroine. After her mother's death Hanna was raised to seek revenge by her father, Erik, in the forest. She makes the choice to go after the woman, Marissa-who is an operative in the American government, that murdered her mother. After her capture it is quickly apparent that she is more than a teenage girl.


This film was directed by Joe Wright, and was shot as an independent film rather than the usual sharp filmography of common action films. The action sequences were uniquely filmed and edited. It adds to the idea of Hanna being different from the average human-faster. It also establishes her character caught in the center of turmoil. However, if your sensitive to fast motion this might cause some problems. This film isn't constant non-stop action and special effects it instead focuses on the main character Hanna as she discovers the outside world for the first time, and discovers the secrets that made her into what she has become. The techno music can be annoying because the beat never really changes tempo, but it does aid the film creating a sense of chaos to the action. The locations present an underside of the extremes of Europe. The story is great and the filming present a new way to tell a familiar story, but it might make some parents flinch.


Saoirse Ronan makes an acting standpoint in this film as the main character Hanna. She became well known for her previous role, and shows that she can do action as well as drama. She creates this character, surrounded by mystery, and a curious and frightened fascination with the world around her. Eric Bana plays the role of Eric, Hanna's father. For being a major part of Hanna's life he is nearly non-existant in this film. He has one well placed action sequence, and not much else is explained about him. There are enough hints to suggest what happened, but his character is left with a few gaps. Cate Blanchett play the villainous role of Marissa. She is great as a very different type of villain. Her greatest weapon is a gun, and the fear that she gives to Hanna. Her only flaw is the accent attempt. She still has the british sound, but it has a hint of a western texan. Its hard to tell if she was meant to be a mixture of both, or only from the U.S. Tom Hollander plays the role of Isaacs, a man hired to capture Hanna where the government failed to. He does create a sadistic character, but at the same time I get the feeling that he's gay. It is an usual combination, but he pulls it off in a very disturbing way. There was one other person that stood out, Jessica Barden who played the role of Sophie. She did good in her role of becoming Hanna's friend, but unfortunately she quickly became annoying. Her character is a typical teenager without any real boundaries.


I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! I enjoyed its creative take on a chase thriller story-line. I also really enjoyed watching Saoirse in this film. The chosen editing for the film gave it a great edge.


Answer to last blog: Zoe Saldana was also featured in the film Star Trek.


Que: What dramatic film has actress Saoirse Ronan starred in?


Raise Your Voice
The Runaways
The Lovely Bones
Welcome to the Rileys

Avatar

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!


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This story follows the story of Jake Sully, a once marine that suffered from a spinal injury, trying to live his life on earth as a civilian. He receives unfortunate news that his brother had passed on, but that his brother left behind a science project that he'd spent months training for. Jake decides that he has nothing more to lose, so he agree's to take on his brother's avatar on a hostile planet known as Pandora. This planet has a native race known as the Na'vi that cause a problem for the business organization wanting to harvest the land of Pandora for its resources. Jake meets Neytiri (a Na'vi), and begins to learn more about the Na'vi inhabiting the planet. Jake quickly finds himself facing an oncoming war between the Na'vi and the human race.

Now, we must toss away what the professionals said about this film. About it being nothing more than a hoax of 3-D to make a blockbuster out of a story just about blue people. Sure, it's about blue people but guess what-they're an alien race of beings. Naturally, aliens won't look like humans even in skin color-get over it. I admire the amount of work that director James Cameron placed into the making of this film. He started from scratch creating the individual look of the characters down to their weapon styles and their language, but he also created the plant, and animal, life of the planet. That kind of passion in filmmaking is beginning to fade unfortunately. This film also contains a powerful message-one that the director had wanted to make for a long time.

The effects of this film are highly computer generated. I recently watched the extended version in which I saw a new breed of animal and the future of earth. The Na'vi and the avatar's do have subtle differences such as eyes, nose, and how many digits a hand has. Otherwise, they are very unique, and appealing, in appearance. Their characters are a mix of African native tribes and America's Native Americans. I was surprised that there was never a thought made of the equality among the gender types. Women could actually be warriors in this film-a concept almost unspeakable to most. That might also coincide with the fact that Neytiri's bad-assness comes from her always needing to save Jake. The plant life is exotic and looked really amazing in a 3-D theater at night. The animals were reminiscent to the wildlife you'd see in current jungles, or at least what should be seen. Most of them were deadly, but they were all still very well done. The technology the humans used was pretty cool. The weaponry, the planes, and the computers were very believable. It is very easy to see that technology existing a few years from now. Although, the computer generated images had to be established from scratch, creating a new form of technology, none of it was blotchy or poorly done.

There was a few small quirks mostly involving scientific story conflict. The plantet has no oxygen that humans can breath, but yet fire breathes just fine. Fire lives off the same component as oxygen that humans can't breathe. If the fire was different from fire you'd see in earth-like coloring it blue, purple, or even black. There is also a small question of if technology equipment doesn't work around the tree of souls then how can someone receive aerial photo's of the location? This is a very dramatic story with a message of nature. In the ending battle the constant drama can become almost overwhelming for some people. The message is also placed as the forefront of the story. Its what places the characters in their predicament. Some people might also despise the idea of nature being respected for its beauty, but others will love it for that reason. A few other people will love, or hate, it for the sub-idea of a culture being lost to mankind. One last quirk is that the characters are almost too much alike. There are obvious differences between them, but they essentially all have that same bold headedness idea of being right.

Sam Worthington plays the leading role of Jake Sully. He creates an very unique character to this type of film. He tries to reach an understanding of all sides, and he also acts kind of childish at times. He tells the story through his video-logs, and this allows the audience to hear the story from a somewhat neutral stand point. Zoe Saldana had the difficult role of playing Neytiri. This was one of two major films that was released that year, 2009, starring her. She was the actress who established the language of the Na'vi. She creates a character that is easy liked and understood while maintaining the idea of an alien race. Sigourney Weaver played the role of Grace-the scientist who is fighting for the right of the Na'vi. Oddly enough this wasn't her first time working with James Cameron. They worked together the film Aliens back in 1986. She pulls of the role of being a smart-ass scientist that the audience enjoys watching. Michelle Rodriguez plays the role of Trudy. This is her usual action type role, but it is good to watch. Joel David Moore plays the role of Norm Spellman. He's the jealous scientist who overcomes this and becomes Jake's friend. Stephen Lang and Giovanni Ribisi make up the cast of villains ( Colonel Miles Quaritch and Parker Selfridge). Ribisi plays the role of the business man obsessed with greed, but yet has a small hint of guilt. Lang is the bad-ass who will not stop in his mission-fire nor lack of oxygen will stop him.

I give this film a 10 out of 10 stars! It tells a great story in a unique and entertaining way. It was also a treat to watch it in 3-D and receive the full effect of the film's imagery.

Answer ro last blog: Guy Pearce is widely known for his role in the film Momento.

Que: What film from 2009, also featured Zoe Saldana?

The Hangover
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Angele's and Demons
Star Trek