Emma's Film Reviews (snowcat)

[Emma]

The idea of showing anything of Michael's past defeats the point of the story.

I hate this new way to do horror movie. Sorry but I don't want to know that Michael Myers, Leatherface, Jason, Torgo or Jaws were bullied when they were young. Nobody need a motivation to be bad, most of the time a psychopath is a psychopath because he like that... This is just a lazy way to do film because the public isn't able to do 1 plus 1 equals 2 anymore since the youngest generation is more and more dumb.

Hmm, I think its nice to see another side of a killer, we have all seen these psychopaths now! lets see some sociopathic killers!

I don't think its being lazy, I think its trying to appeal to a wider audience, a drama fan is more likely to watch a horror film if there's a deep story behind it. Horror is reaching a wider audience then it ever has, and that's due to the wider appeal of the new films! there are still hundreds of horror movies coming out that don't take on these new cliches.

The thing about horror is, there are certain formats that always work, and why make a new film when you can take an already established character and develop it?  After all.... Rob Zombie did exactly what John Carpenter told him too! make the film his own, thus making a prequel/remake/re imaging.

[Jimmy]

I think its trying to appeal to a wider audience, a drama fan is more likely to watch a horror film if there's a deep story behind it.

And this is exactly the reason why most of the new USians horror film aren't mind challenging or interesting anymore. Wider audience equals PG-13 boringfest fill with untalented TV young flavor of the month "actor", but on the other side we had crap like Hostel and Saw that aren't really better. Horror doesn't have to please the "drama fan", do we ask to see vampire in The Young and the Restless? No since those show are suppose to be boring and we understand that

Horror is reaching a wider audience then it ever has.

Certainly not... The horror genre was more popular from the sixties to the eighties. Most of the new movies openned at the #1 spot on the US box-office (because of the marketing), disapear 1 or 2 week later and they are forgotten like they deserve to be a couple of month after their release.

Of course we must thank the rest of the world and the independant for giving us real movie now

[Jon]

You see what you've done, Emma? We'd just managed to calm Jimmy down and now you've poked him with a stick! 

I like the irony of Hostel, but otherwise I agree with him. Asian and now Swedish (Let the Right One In, recently reviewed in a thread near you! ) is light years ahead of the US. I haven't seen much since The Mist to demonstrate the average film-maker (and Zombie is definitely that) in America knows how to handle drama and horror together.

When a Terminator film can be released as a PG, you know something is very wrong and it's indicative of their whole philosophy. Maybe I'm wrong about Halloween, but he doesn't make it easy doing a remake to cash-in on the name and getting released between Saw movies.

[Emma]

Horror is reaching a wider audience then it ever has.

Certainly not... The horror genre was more popular from the sixties to the eighties. Most of the new movies openned at the #1 spot on the US box-office (because of the marketing), disapear 1 or 2 week later and they are forgotten like they deserve to be a couple of month after their release.

Of course we must thank the rest of the world and the independant for giving us real movie now

Pretty much the same for all films regardless of genre :p unless your a Disney movie.

You see what you've done, Emma? We'd just managed to calm Jimmy down and now you've poked him with a stick! 

;P im sorry! ..I just found this pointy stick.

When a Terminator film can be released as a PG, you know something is very wrong and it's indicative of their whole philosophy. Maybe I'm wrong about Halloween, but he doesn't make it easy doing a remake to cash-in on the name and getting released between Saw movies.

Unfortunately, things like Terminator and the soon to be made Robocop remake are made so people will take there kids! I watched both Robocop and Terminator very young... And I mean very young... maybe 5 or so :S I loved them! I got Terminator and Robocop figures for my birthday one year. anyway.... these remakes are an easy way to make money as.... well, If I had kids im sure id have taken them too see Terminator Salvation! (Which I thought was appaling, Although I did find Christian Bale saying "Tell them Ill be back" quite funny, I was the only one in the cinema who laughed at that :/) Of course they are also banking on the whole revival of nostalgia ;P

[goodguy]

When a Terminator film can be released as a PG, you know something is very wrong...

As a network show, the Fox series is more or less PG (at least IMDb says so), and there is nothing wrong with it. Haven't seen the new movie, though.

[Jimmy]

;P im sorry! ..I just found this pointy stick.

It's not that pointy, but it's true that I don't really like most of what is called movie actually in the mainstream US industry. Maybe it's because of my age since I was there when horror movies were horror movies and not pointless remakes or kiddie stuff or no meaning violence like the Saw franchise.

BTW, I have a real touchy subject button that can be push and start my angry mode. But it was never push here and I doubt it will be

and no Jon it isn't Tarantino

[Emma]

;P im sorry! ..I just found this pointy stick.

It's not that pointy, but it's true that I don't really like most of what is called movie actually in the mainstream US industry. Maybe it's because of my age since I was there when horror movies were horror movies and not pointless remakes or kiddie stuff or no meaning violence like the Saw franchise.

BTW, I have a real touchy subject button that can be push and start my angry mode. But it was never push here and I doubt it will be

and no Jon it isn't Tarantino

Haha, Its cool XD I have a similar argumentative side, generally when it comes to Disney, Ive spent along time researching Disney XD

:p Watching horror at 8am in the morning! (very dedicated.)

[Emma]

Freak - 1999
Director - Tyler Tharpe
Running Time - 75 minutes
Stars - Amy Paliganoff, Travis Patton

When I see a DVD that costs a pound, I am forced to buy it. Something in my head screams BUY IT! Quite often, its a silly thing to because the film is terrible, however a few occasions have brought up some surprising films.

And so here we have Freak, a 1999 film which doesn't seem to have had a major release, during my research I found it had won two awards at small film festivals, I was in shock for a couple of minutes upon reading that. Freak is like a watered down version of the Halloween story.

The film follows a boy who walks to a house, inside his mother shouts at him and hits him, hes wearing a leather mask. Screaming at him to get to his room the boy goes and is subsequently chained to the floor. The mother collapses in pain and goes to bed, minutes later we see her carrying a bundle to a bonfire. The camera slowly pans up to the camp fire for crying to be heard and a baby is fished out of the bon fire, the masked boy was the one who rescued the baby, shortly goes to confront his mother.

The story cuts to the future, with a story about a young woman and her younger adopted sister, they are moving house due to there parents death, we also see a young man who works in “mental institute” he is on probation, and must work here to allowed bail I guess. Its never actually explained. So the young man listens to a tape of the patients case and is told he will be transporting the patient to another hospital.

This film is only 75 minutes, but feels longer there are scenes that have no dialogue and I found myself bored by some of the actual dialogue in the film. It could have been a short 30 minute movie and have the same impact, in fact I'm sure id have preferred it as would the people who watched it with me. Not only was I bored, but I had this annoying feeling id seen this story before. I praise the film maker for not remaking Halloween, but taking a story and changing a few small facts is like re imagining a film and changing the name. If you like B movies, take a look if you don't stay away!

[Emma]

The Happening - 2008
Director - M Night Shyamalan
Running Time - 90 minutes
Stars - Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo

When I heard about the happening, I thought “A new film with Marky mark? Perfect” I loved Boogie Nights and a few of his other films so I bought it.

The Happening is one of the weirdest films I have seen on mainstream release, especially as it was recommended to me by two people who don't watch a lot of films, there recommendation was based upon “It really makes you think, its quite scary”. Especially people who don't watch what I would class as a B movie. M Night Shyamalan actually said he wanted to make a B movie, and that he did.

The Happening follows science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Whalberg), His wife Alma (Zooey Daschanel) his teacher friend Julian (John Leguizamo) and Julian's 8 year old daughter Jess. After an explained phenomenon causes people to commit suicide, a small group of people decide to find out what is causing this natural disaster.

Its hard to write the plot of this without giving away everything so I wont go to deep. I liked the film even though I found it strange its fairly enjoyable, well as enjoyable as watching mass suicide can be. The Happening is a B movie but was it supposed to be? I think Mr Shyamalan saw how bad it came out and then decided it was his intention.

Whilst id recommended this film, its purely for the opposite reason that it was recommended to me.
Its weird, its fun and if you can look past the strangeness of the idea, you can enjoy it.

[Achim]

I watched The Happening at the cinema after I had skipped M. Night's Lady in the Water. I found the concept appealing and the first 30 minutes seemed to take off quite well. Well, after that it well went downhill in my opinion. The movie got weirder by the minute and the final solution was so laughable

Spoiler (hover to show)

The Wind, seriously...?

that I have lost interest in any future M. Night film.

The Sixth Sense is great, Unbreakable underrated and I thought Signs was quite alright. After that he seems to have lost his touch.

[Emma]

I watched The Happening at the cinema after I had skipped M. Night's Lady in the Water. I found the concept appealing and the first 30 minutes seemed to take off quite well. Well, after that it well went downhill in my opinion. The movie got weirder by the minute and the final solution was so laughable

Spoiler (hover to show)

The Wind, seriously...?

that I have lost interest in any future M. Night film.

The Sixth Sense is great, Unbreakable underrated and I thought Signs was quite alright. After that he seems to have lost his touch.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I agree, the wind was a weird thing to use as the problem :S I especially thought the fact that it happened to stop as they were walking towards each other quite stupid.

I think M Night has the same problem as Quentin Tarrantino and Kevin Smith (sadly) they all made brilliant directorial débuts, and have spent there career trying to re capture the originality of those films.

[Tom]

I think M Night has the same problem as Quentin Tarrantino and Kevin Smith (sadly) they all made brilliant directorial débuts, and have spent there career trying to re capture the originality of those films.

The problem that M Night has is, that everyone expects a surprise twist ending in his movies and he feels that he has to abide to that. I really liked Sixth Sense and Unbreakable but after those it is going downhill. The last movie I have seen of him was The Village. In this one I guessed the twist a few minutes into the movie. This fact combined with mostly negative reviews of his movies after The Village didn't really make me want to watch anything of him again.

[Jimmy]

Quentin Tarrantino (...) originality

[Emma]

Quentin Tarrantino (...) originality

:S you think Reservoir Dogs was unoriginal?

*sigh* I spend far too much time in college analysing movies

[Jon]

Quentin Tarrantino (...) originality

Don't bloody start him off again! Jimmy is delusional and blinkered when it comes to Tarantino... 

How you can lump him in with Shyamalan? He's completely lost it and these days I'm not convinced he ever had it. Last seen quickly disappearing up his own rectum!

Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were amazing. Signs showed weaknesses, mainly in directing action (i.e., he can't) and that made me reconsider Unbreakable. Is it slow and ponderous because it's supposed to be, or is it because Night doesn't know how to do anything else?