This Means War

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film follows FDR Foster and Tuck, two CIA operatives, who are best friends in the field. They come across the same woman, Lauren Scott. They both decide to chase after her and tell her not tell her that they know each other. It soon turns into spy against spy as they continue to fight the love of the same woman. 

This film was directed by McG. This film doesn't follow the general norm of most cinematic films. There is a blend between the two genere's romantic comedy and spy action flick. However, this does more focus on the romantic comedy aspect instead of the spy action. Which only sucks for the villain. This film also had very different comedy than what has been seen in most recent films-its actually got some mind to it. There also isn't any toilette humour-shocking. Now granted, the story itself with the characters isn't full of heart. You have one girl dating two guys at once, and two spies who are trying to out do one another to win her affections. It's practicably impossible to make these characters lovable, as is expected in romantic comedies. There is some minor action, but not enough to make it an action film. There's only about ten minutes of fighting because a random villain was thrown into the mix. However, I think the spy villain was only added to remind the audience that they're spies. Apart from the small snag of non-lovable characters needed for a romantic comedy, and not enough action to make it spy action, that story itself is good. It takes a twist on the modern cinema films. There is also some predictability to it in that you know who wins aout midway through the film. 

The cast was good, but not great together. Chris Pine played the role of FDR Foster. He is the standard playboy of the film. He was good in creating the playboy image, but didn't too well changing his character style when he falls in love. He made the playboy struck by love appear a little too cheesy. Tom Hardy played the role of Tuck. He was good in his role being the straight up romantic. He kept a realism to it that was good. Reese Witherspoon played the role of Lauren Scott. She did good being a character who testing the waters of romance. There wasn't much that could've been done with this character, but what she did was good. She kept the character realistic and somewhat kind. Chelsea Handler, Trish, was good. She didn't have enough time to create a dynamic character, but she did good in bringing some humorous energy to the film. Til Schweiger, Heinrich, was good being the villain. He was only given an opportunity to be moderately mincing.  It also sucks that he had such a sucky death sequence in the film.

I give this film... 4 out of 5 stars! It's mix of genre's was good, but not great. The lack of lovable characters and lack of action hurt the film. Either the film had to eliminate the villain Heinrich, or up the likability its characters. 

Answer to last blog: Roger Jackson has been the ever popular voice for Ghostface for all four of the Scream films. 

Que: What other film has actor Chris Pine starred in?

Terminator Salvation

Just My Luck

Just Like Heaven

Inception

Scream IV (SCRE4M)

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This is the fourth installment of the Scream franchise. Sidney Prescott, one of the survivors from the first three incidents, has now published a novel about her own experiences. She returns to Woodsboro to promote the novel but finds her book tour haunted by the presence of Ghostface. Deputy Dewey, Dwight, Riley and Gale Riley (Weathers), try to help Sidney and her cousin Jill Roberts survive this new killer. 

This film was directed by Wes Craven. This film carries on a legacy that had been officially ended with a trilogy. This film pays plenty of homage to the original combining ironic humour, scares, and twisting horror movie slasher cliches. However, I think several audience's have come to an expectation of what is going to happen in this series, and therefore this can't surpass the original. Other than this being a fourth installment it still keeps to a great story with good characters. This film has more of a character development than Scream 2. However, it is slightly obvious whose going to die. There is the shock of Neve's character actually getting hurt in this film. This film keeps the comedy that was missing from Scream 3, and keeps the film's basis of it being a slasher parodying slashers. It opens with the current horror debate of gore fests, torture porn, remakes of originals, and asian horror ghost films that are appearing in cinema's. I do like how this choose to be a sequel instead of a remake. I also enjoyed how it kept up to date with current technology and current popular high school culture. 

The surviving cast returned to this film, which was also great to see. The original cast was met with a fresh new set of young faces that gave the film its more current feel. Neve Campbell returned to her role as Sidney Prescott. She was great showing why her character has survived this long through the franchise. It's not from luck, but mostly from being intelligent. She also continued to give her 'victim' character heart for the film. Courteney Cox returned to her popular role of Gale Riley (Weathers). She didn't return to her satire of popular media, but she did return as the unofficial detective. This film changed her character from being a bitch to a more heartfelt character. It is good to see the changes her character has gone through from Scream. David Arquette returned to his role of Sheriff Dewey, Dwight, Riley. His character remains the same from the other films. He is good brining his light hearted nature to this film. Emma Robert played the role of Jill Roberts. This role takes her from being a child actress into a teenage actress for popular audiences. She is good in this role giving the damsel character a new face. Hayden Panettiere plays the role of Kirby Reed. She was great in bringing a truly young vibe to film. She also did great in making a satire of the new horror generation. Britt (Brittany) Robertson, Marnie Cooper, was good. She kept to the lightheartedness of Arquette. 

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It is a good film that pays homage to its original roots. It's slightly predictable, but its mixture of humour and horror is great. 

Answer to last blog: Wes Craven's first slasher film was The Last house on the Left. 

Que: Who has been the ever popular voice of Ghostface?

Dana Farwell
Don LaFontaine
Movie Trailer Voice Over Guy
Roger Jackson

Scream III

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film carries out to Hollywood on the set of Stab 3. Ghostface makes a reappearance, and threatens the cast of Stab 3 to try and learn of Sidney Prescott's hideout. This forces the survivors of the small town, and the college, to try and figure out who this new killer is before he murders off Hollywoods up and coming new actors, and themselves. 

This assumed ending to the trilogy was directed by Wes Craven. This film was, like the music industry, affected by the events in Columbine High School. Because of the media turning its attention to satanic messages in music, and the gore in films (because media is always to blame), this film toned down the gore in the film. This film attempted to satire trilogies, but failed to provided the ironic humour of the last two films. There is a good general humour based on the character themselves. It was surprising that this film had only one shocking death of its main characters, and it did not murder any big name celebrity stars. This film fell more into a very general 'whodunit' slasher film. It did have some cliches, but they weren't overtly horrible. This was a good ending to the trilogy. It established its characters in living new lives away from fear. This film did wear thin on its audiences as most trilogies tend to do if its not extremely original. 

Bringing back the orignal cast was great, but there really wasn't enough time to get attached to the new secondary characters. The unfortunate thing is that even the characters appeared to be shouting 'not again'. Neve Campbell returned to her role of Sidney Prescott. She was great reviving this role. She gave her character a lot of heart and courage. Courteney Cox returned to her role of Gale Weathers. Her character no longer has that media satire which would've been great in this film. In this film she takes on the role of detective trying to solve the murders as quickly as possible. David Arquette also returned to his role of Deputy Dewey, Dwight, Riley. His character remains the same, only this time he begins as slightly spiteful towards Gale. Liev Schreiber also returned to his role as Cotton Weary briefly. His character wasn't fully given a chance to be more than it was which was unfortunate. 

I give this film 3 out of 5 stars! It's a good alleged ending to the film franchise. It doesn't mimic its predecessor's, and instead takes it back to the original horror mystery slasher films. 

Answer to last blog: Actress Tori Spelling, who did a humorous cameo in Scream 2, lent her comedic talents to the Scream parody Scary Movie 2. 

Que: What was Wes Craven's first slasher film?

The Crazies
I Spit on Your Grave
Straw Dogs
Last House on the Left

Scream II

Caution: This Moght Contain Spoilers!

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The events that devastated a small town, two years ago, have now turned into a major film called Stab, based off the novel by reporter Gale Weathers. At the premier of Stab two unexpected deaths shock the premier. The attention quickly turns back to Sidney Prescott who is now attending community college in her hometown. Cotton Weary has been released due to the discovery of him not having been her mother's murderer. The killer quickly begins attacking Sidney, and the other survivors from the first serial murder. 

This sequel was directed by Wes Craven. This sequel directly plays off what the original film had established. It wasn't as original an idea, but its humour gave it a fresh view. This film's satire is based off of sequels, and of the never ending slasher genre. The humour was better established because it even made of it's first film, and its current sequel. This film did feature more gore in it, and it did focus on creating a higher body count than it predecessor. This kept from any true development for the new secondary characters. However, the primary characters that survived the first film are given a chance to further develop there characters. Without the secondary character development it also leaves the film open to any murder suspect. There were two surprise murders in this film. The first was from the popular actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, and the second was from Jaime Kennedy. Kennedy's death was deemed as a mistake, but it also left the film open to mystery. This film has much more ironic comedy than horror, but there is still an argument of this being better than the first. Ironically enough, the debate itself appeared in the film as well. 

It was good that most of the original cast returned for the sequel. This kind of dedication almost doesn't exist anymore. Neve Campbell reappears as the leading character Sidney Prescott. She really built on her character giving her more heart. In this film she learns to face her fears. Courteney Cox reappears as Gale Weathers. Her character took an interesting turn in that she became the news she was trying to report. She really got more time to open her character to a deeper emotional level than before. David Arquette reappeared as Deputy Dewey, Dwight, Riley. He has more time to show his character, but his character essentially remains the same from the first film. The only difference is his love entanglement. Jaime Kennedy, Randy Meeks, still remained the standard satire for slasher fanatics. It was unfortunate that he died in this film. Liev Schreiber, Cotton Weary, was a good twist for this film. His appearance gave the original characters a chance to open their characters more. Now for the secondary characters. Jerry O'Connell, Derek, is Sidney's new boyfriend. Timothy Olyphant, Mickey, is Derek's best friend. Elise Neal, Hallie, is Sidney's new closest friend.

I give this film 4 out of 5. It's a sequel that spends a lot of time mimicking its predecessor. This film spends a lot of tie focused on its original characters, creating more gore, and doubling the body count. Its still got a ironic story plot which is good.

Answer to last blog: Although actress Neve Campbell and actor Skeet Ulrich were not a romantic couple, like in Scream, they were both featured in the film The Craft.

Que: Actress Tori Spelling had a small cameo in this film. What other slasher film did she lend her comedy talents to?

Scream 3
Scary Movie
Clockwatchers
Scary Movie 2

Scream

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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Casey receives a strange phone call from a mysterious voice one night. The voice  turns out to be a murder who murders Casey and her boyfriend (Steve). This sends the town into panic, and police are forced to question students from the local high school. Sidney Prescott, still recovering from her mothers death that is approaching its one year anniversary, soon finds herself the murders next target. She continues to receive strange phone calls as the murder count continues to grow. 

This film was directed by Wes Craven. It isn't too surprising that this twist on slasher films came from Craven. He had made a several twists in this genre, including  A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. This film took a very unique turn in the slasher genre. Its first shocker was having a popular actress become the first murder victim. The other shocker came in with its plot and self aware characters. It exposed how much the teenage modern culture has changed, and showed how desensitized the world is becoming. The teen culture is where most of its humour comes from. This film was a great satire to emerge in 1996, because it turned away from the popular 1980's horror sequels and, instead, started a franchise of its own. The plot is full of unexpected irony. There is also minor gore in the film, but its not overplayed and it doesn't take away from the film. The story mainly satire's the slasher genre without being too goofy. It was a great plot that needed to be done at some point. Keeping this film in a small town like setting was a great idea that really benefited the film.

The cast was great together. Neve Campbell played the leading role of Sidney Prescott. She was great in playing the role of the damsel without being to damselish. She also gave her character plenty of heart through deep emotional trama. Rose McGowan played the role of Tatum, Sidney's best friend. She was great in this role. She has the greatest satire death scene in the film. David Arquette played the role of Deputy Dewey, Dwight. He was great creating the clueless cop who is helpless trying to save lives by finding the killer. He managed to create this character making him appear friendly and not completely inept. Courteney Cox played the role of Gale Weathers. She was great being the obvious satire of current popular media outlets. She really pulled out the aggressiveness of the character. Jamie Kennedy, Randy, was great in his role. He was the satire of the film. He was the character who established the rules of a slasher film. Skeet Ulrich played the role of Billy Loomis. He was great being the character who you could never fully tell if he was sinister or good. Matthew Lillard played the role of Stuart, Stu. This was one of his early 1990's film that helped to start his career in Hollywood. He was great in his role of being Billy's best friend, and Rose's boyfriend.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It was a great film that changed the way slasher films were presented in modern cinema's.

Answer to last blog: Doctor Emmet Brown's dog, from Back to the Future Pt. 1, is named Einstein.

Que: What other film featured actress Never Campbell and actor Skeet Ulrich?

Wild Things
The Craft
Jericho
The Doom Generation

Back To The Future Pt. I

Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!

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Marty McFly is a teenager who assists Dr. Emmet Brown in his research. Doc takes a DeLorean DMC-12 and transforms it, so it can time travel. Doc tests it on his time machine using his dog, and through an unsynchronized clock Doc learns that he has successfully created a time machine. Before Doc can travel there is an attack by terrorists, and Marty uses the DeLorean to escape, but accidentally travels from 1985 to 1955. Marty soon finds himself changing the events of time for his small town, including his parents falling in love. 

This film was directed by Robert Zemeckis. Zemeckis comical and adventurish stye is obvious in this 1980's film. This film began a legacy that still remains highly popular among audience's to this day. This film also remains a perfect example of the popular 1980's science fiction style. The film's story combines science fiction with action and romance. It's also a film that children and parents can enjoy together. Most of the film's plot is set up in the first five minutes before Marty travels through time. After time traveling the plot unravels humorously building on what has already been established. This one of the rare films that relies heavily on its plot line, and not its characters. The idea is a bit fantastic, but its good for this type of film. There is no true scientific basis for this plot. The backdrop was good, it was especially good watching it change through the decades. Using the giant clock tower as the ket was great, it sort of became the fill's icon. This film is cheesy at some moments, and it is has a predictable plot.

The cast was good together. They really gave the film its comical feel. Michael J. Fox played the leading role of Marty McFly. He's great in this role. He creates a character who isn't a loner, or a nerd, but it is slightly cool. This really made the film popular among its target audience. Christopher Llyod played the role of Doctor Emmet Brown, or Doc. He was great playing the neurotic scientist that people could still enjoy watching. Lea Thompson played the role of Lorriane Baines. She was good in her role. She took the role of Marty's mother and turned the character around. She also created the damsel character. Crispin Clover played the role of George McFly. He played the nerd of the 50's character who finds himself during the course of events. He was good at taking a nerd and giving him heart. Claudia Wells, Jennifer Parker, was good in her small role. She didn't have much time to open her role as anything more than that. Thomas F. Wilson did great in his role of Biff Tannen. He was great in creating the asshole bully that everyone just despised.

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars. This is a great family film that started a 1980's legacy. Even if its cheesy, and predictable, its still worth a single watch.

Answer to last blog: Director James Watkins, director of The Woman in Black, also directed the film Eden Lake. 

Que: What is the name of Doctor Emmet Brown's dog that appears in the film?

Einstein
Doc
Newton
Darwin

The Woman In Black

Caution: This Film Might Contain Spoilers!

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This film is based off a horror story written by Susan Hill with the same title, and was adapted into a stage play (1987), and then into a television film (1989). Arthur Kipps, is a man trying to get over his wife's death and raise his son. His firm sends him on an assignment to handle the estate of Alice Drablow, the Eel Marsh House. He boards a train, leaving his son, Joseph Kipp for a few days. Arthur arrives in a town that is plagued by superstition about a woman dressed in black. Arthur goes to the Eel Marsh House to finish the paperwork, and quickly learns that there is more to the town's superstitions. 

This film was directed by James Watkins. He's a director whose placing roots in the horror genre. This film doesn't have excessive amounts of gore, it really doesn't even show a ton of blood. This film more shoots for chills, and a great dramatic story. I can't say how loyal this film is to the novel, or the stage play, or the televised film. This film isn't Paranormal Activity and it isn't the Grudge, but it is the first film in a while that is made just to terrify its audience instead of feeding a recent gore fetish. The town's plague is that every time someone see's the woman in black she takes away someone's child (by convincing them to kill themselves). The effects were well done, and they were kept brief and simple. The ghostly effects were great. Creepy and it didn't mimic the recent stylings of the Grudge. Placing the film during the Edwardian Era (1901-1910) was a great idea. It gave the film a much more classic horror film feel. I was also surprised that they managed to find the creepiest classic toys of the era. 

This film has a good cast, and Daniel Radcliffe has made an appearance away from Harry Potter. Daniel Radcliffe played the leading role of Arthur Kipp. He is great in this role. It does show that he can play other roles. It's also interesting how Daniel's face is changing rapidly. Ciaran Hinds plays the role of Sam Daily. He is great in his role. He is the character who maintains the idea that it's just superstition, and nothing more. He is the voice of reason through all the chaos, and he manages to keep his character's heart. Janet McTeer plays the role of Elizabeth Daily. She is good being the spiritual medium who is suffering from her own loss. 

I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It is a good horror film that returns to the original roots of haunting horror films. There isn't a lot of gore in this film, but it does offer a lot of chills.

Answer to last blog: Writer, for Chronicle, also wrote the episode for Masters of Horror Deer Woman.

Que: What other film did James Watkins direct?

Eden Lake
The Descent: Part 2
My Little Eye
Tideland