Grave Encounters (2011) review

(9/10)

Ever been through a haunted house? If you would have documented it, then you would have something similar to this on film.

PLOT:This new paranormal investigation TV show entitled "Grave Encounters" starts to show some pontential running its sixth episode, which takes place at an abandoned mental hospital which is said to be haunted. Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson) and his crew decide to do a lock-in to investigate the supposedly-haunted hospital, though the crew has weaseled their way through show business in a fake way. When they actually start to get some hard evidence that ghosts exist and that this place is haunted, strange, scary, and confusing things begin to happen that try to drive our team into madness. It's a good plot idea to make a movie about that's executed very well.

ACTING:For this independent horror, the acting was great! I felt the fear and saw the insanity in these characters' personas. The shiners were Sean Rogerson as Lance, Merwin Mondesir as T.C. Gibson, Mackenzie Gray as Houston Gray, and Ashleigh Gryzko as Sasha Parker.



SCORE:There was little to no score, but of what there was, it was pretty ominous.

EFFECTS:You can tell just about all of the effects are done with computers, my best guess being Adobe After Effects, but the ghosts and their faces are pretty scary looking in the end. It's like looking up the demon face trend on YouTube. The blood effects aren't half bad either, though they look like cherry jell at times. Compared to most low-budget horrors these days, the effects were pretty well done.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was a very entertaining horror ride! It was scary, intense, fun, and seemingly neverending. The whole experience is like being stuck inside a haunted house attraction with no emergency exits or ways to get out. Thrilling! My only problem I found with this movie is that in it's most confusing parts, it can become unreasonably silly. It's insane and illogical with no real reason! But then I start to think, ghosts are illogical as well, so it isn't that bad.

OVERALL,an awesome indie horror with a well-executed plot, great horror acting, little ominous score, well done computer effects, and the feel of an ultimate thrill ride, though it came off as silly during the confusing bits.

Independence Day (1996) review

(7/10)

Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum kicking alien butt on July 4th? Sounds great!

PLOT:People all over the country have noticed that ther is a disturbance in the signal on their televisions and radios; people all over the world have noticed the giant saucers hovering over their towns. President Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and his assisants are trying to figure out what to do about the commotion. One lucky computer genius named David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) cracks the aliens' code and warns the president that its a countdown. As soon as the countdown ends, the aliens start to destroy the Earth's major cities. The president and most of his crew just barely make it out in time. Now it's up to President Whitmore, David Levinson, out-of-work fighter pilot Steven Hiller (Will Smith), and the guys from Area 51 to figure out how to stop this menace. It's a cheesy alien plot executed unevenly.



ACTING:The acting was pretty decent for all this movie had to offer. I've seen all of these guys do better, but this wasn't too bad at all. The shiners are Will Smith as Capt. Hiller, Jeff Goldblum as David, Bill Pullman as the president, Randy Quaid as Russell Casse, and Brent Spiner as Dr. Okun.

SCORE:The score was all for dramatics, but it played well.

EFFECTS:For the time being, the effects were major eye candy. The looming saucers looked amazingly menacing, the explosions looked real, and the aliens looked creepy. It was all for a good look, which it had.



OTHER CONTENT:The movie wasn't half bad for entertainment, but as a film it doesn't stand well. The plot's uneven, it can't be taken truly serious, it can get cheesy, and the character development has some major problems. If one can learn to get over that, enjoy the effects, humor, and sci-fi action along with a surprisingly good script, then this should be a very entertaining ride.

OVERALL,a good sci-fi action with an uneven plot, good acting, dramatic score, eye-dazzling effects, and a good script, but the other mistakes include it's lack of seriousness, increase of cheesiness, and problems with character development.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) review

(10/10)

If I had to use only one word to describe this film, it would be: amazing.

PLOT:In recent events, evidence has come up relating to extraterrestrial activity, from boats appearing in the desert to high-speed UFO chases in the country.  Among these events, we follow two paths to the same ending: that of Bob Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) and Lacombe (Francios Truffaut). Bob witnessed the UFO chase along with his neighbor, Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon), who loses her son to the aliens, and both start to effortlessly make models of where he expects them to land. Lacombe has been traveling the world with claims all related to the same, extraterrestrial story. When he finds the right coordinates and signal tones, he decides to make this a government issue. As you can infer, each is led to the same spot somehow. It's a very well thought-out plot executed very uniquely.

ACTING:The acting was very great. Each actor gave an entertaining and convincing performance. The shiners are Richard Dreyfuss as Roy Neary, Francois Truffaut as Lacombe, and Melinda Dillon as Jillian Guiler, with respects to Cary Guffey as Barry Guiler. He actually played a pretty creepy kid!



SCORE:The score was done by the great John Williams, so you know it has to be good. The score contained a unique, bold, and catchy theme that any fan would recognize right off the bat.

EFFECTS:For its time, the effects were a marvel. They still are pretty awesome as of today. The bright UFOs and detailed desings of the UFOs are amazing at most. I wish effects looked this real today. Even the aliens looked neat and real!



OTHER CONTENT:This film was the "2001" that everybody liked: unique, amazing, suspenseful, and even perfect. Just as in "Schindler's List", I saw Spielburg's perfectionism appear yet again. He has definitely earned my respect as a director rather than a producer (Goonies). I believe this film will live forever in the hearts of the curious young and old.

OVERALL,an epic sci-fi film with a well thought-out and unique plot, great acting, Williams score, marvelous effects, and Spielburg's sense of perfectionism.

Piranha (2010) review

(9/10)

This contains the 3 B's of a campy horror B-movie: boobs, blood, and beer!

PLOT:It's spring break at Lake Victoria and the party is shaking; apparently, the lake's shaking too, due to the fact that a major quake has opened up an underwater trench that releases thousands of blood-thirsty, prehistoric piranha. Caught in the middle of this is young Jake Forester (Steven McQueen), who insted of watching his little brother and sister like his mom and the county sheriff, Julie (Elizabeth Shue), told him to, decides to get in on the spring break action by being a lake guide for Wild Wild porn director, Derrick Jones (Jerry O'Connell) and his Wild Wild Girls (Kelly Brook and Riley Steele). The story heats up when Jake's love interest, Kelly (Jessica Szohr), joins the group. You can tell just by the set-up that this is going to be a viscous bloodbath between man and fish. It's a great horror plot executed to the greatest factor of grit and camp.



ACTING:The acting wasn't a marvel, but it was still pretty great for a horror movie. The shiners were Steven McQueen as Jake, Jerry O'Connell as Derrick, Kelly Brook as Danni, Ving Rhames as Deputy Fallen, and Brooklyn Proalx as Laura Forester, with cameos b Richard Dreyfuss as Matt Boyd and Christopher Lloyd as Mr. Goodman. I kind of felt that Elizabeth Shue didn't do anything too much to be considered really special.

SCORE:The score is mainly made up of dramatic horror score and modern rave-party songs, and each does the job of fitting the mood at the right time.

EFFECTS:Being made in 3D (believe me, it was much better in theaters, when it WAS in 3D!), you wouldn't expect the movie's CG effects to be any good, but when it came to our razor-toothed killers, the effects were pretty detailed. The better effects, however, were the natural make-up and prop effects used to show the injuries and corpses the piranha left behind. They were truly grisly and even frightening.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie has everything a good CAMPY horror movie should have: bloody carnage, crude jokes, nude girls, drug abuse, and an unavoidable setup or premise. Aja definitely did a great job of making a fun horror flick. The only problem with this movie is that it's not supposed to be perfect at all, so it doesn't come off as THE BEST horr film ever by far. The only part where it truly felt like a serious horror instead of a campy one is when the piranha hit the beach and the carnage starts ensuing; even then, they make it full of grit.

OVERALL,an awesome horror flick with a great, campy plot, great horror acting, fitting score and soundtrack, detailed CG effects and grisly make-up effects, and everything this movie needs to be the ultimate campy horror, but it wasn't made to be perfect obviously, for it shows.

Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos (2011) review

(10/10)

It's back to the basic format for this comedy special review! Jeff Dunham is back, and he's pulling out all the stops and being harsher than ever, leaving hardly anyone unoffended and taking Walter, Achmed, Jose, and Peanut with him! There are also two new characers which I will not spoil. Though this one can get kind of meaner than the others, it makes it even funnier than the others! However, this one is for fans only, for it borrows ideas from previous gags. JD, your fans still love you. Keep it up!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) review

(6/10)

It brings the book hardly any justice, but it has its moments.

PLOT:Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is just an average Earth citizen living like everyone else in the world. One day, when his house is about to be destroyed, his best friend Ford Prefect (Mos Def) comes and tells him that the world is about to end. Most ironically, a Vogon fleet then comes and announces to Earth's inhabitants that the Earth's about to be destroyed in place of an Inter-Galactic Highway. Seconds before Earth is demolished, Arthur and Ford hitch a ride aboard a Vogon ship. It all gets crazier from here as our two characters get into many misadventures and meet two old friends. It is a very unique plot executed almost parallel to the book, though a little sillier.



ACTING:The acting was good, but nothing truly special. Everyone did the jobs they needed to do. The shiners are Zooey Deschanel as Trillian, Mos Def as Ford Prefect, Alan Rickman as the voice of Marvin, Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox, and Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast.

SCORE:The score was mainly made up of mood-fitting, sci-fi adventure score and at least one silly song. It was simply there to do its job.



EFFECTS/ANIMATION:The effects here weren't utterly dazzling, but they were pretty cool and enhanced the humorous and adventurous feel of the movie. I personally loved the part where the Improbablity Drive turned them all into stop-motion yarn.



OTHER CONTENT:Though this had its funny moments and adventurous story, I felt that it did no justice, hardly, to the book. They tooke out some of the funniest, most clever moments and replaced them with something stupid by comparison, and they added unnecessary sublots that weren't in the book. Garth Jennings, though you did this for Adams, you drew him no respect. I also agree with others in saying that this movies is strictly for the readers, for they don't give you enough information to back up the story.

OVERALL,an ok sci-fi comedy with a unique but silly plot, good acting, mood-fitting adventure score, and neat effects and animation, but it differs too much from the source material and leaver its unfamiliar audience wondering.

The Godfather (1972) review

(9/10)

It's the second most beautiful film I've ever seen, but it's not the entertaining one out there.

PLOT:In 1940s New York, the Italian mafia families rule. One of these families in particular is the Corleone family, in which a Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) leads. People in need, such as close friends and celebrities, come to him for help, and he supplies it in whatever ways necessary. When he denies working with a drug dealer, he's ambushed and shot on the spot. He lives, but now it's up to his family to protect him and bring him justice. His son, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), takes on the role of serving him justice by planning a kill with the family. This spins off into a whole series of events which I choose not to spoil. It's a good idea for a plot and executed beautifully.



ACTING:All performances in this film were great. Brando flawlessly performed the role of Vito Corleone, the godfather. Pacino did a brilliant job as well. Just about everyone shined in here, but the honorable mentions go to James Caan as Sonny, Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi, and Simonetta Stefanelli as Apollonia.

SCORE:This film has some of the most beautiful themes I've heard in a film, especially the main theme by itself.



OTHER CONTENT:This is definitely one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen next to "2001". Every scene from meetings, to love, to death is filmed with such delicacy and tenderness that it comes off as near perfect. The only flaw I was able to find in the film was that it didn't come off as the most exciting or entertaining film out there. I found it lengthy and found myself wondering, "When will this end?" "2001" intrigued me, but this was a bit monotonous. Nevertheless, Coppola's direction is still rock solid and brilliant. I have definitely earned some respect for him.

OVERALL,an awesome film with a beautifully executed plot, great acting, beatiful score, and near perfect filming with rock-solid direction, but it was a little monotonous and lengthy at times.