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Under discussion:

Film Name  Production Year

Ninotchka  (1939)

The Return of the Living Dead  (1985)

Timber Falls  (2007)

I am so, so, so, so, so behind. Still. So, short and hopefully not sucky reviews.

Timber Falls was more than likely playing on the Sci-Fi channel one night and I just couldn't look away. A couple hiking in an unfamiliar area decide to stray from the path and then get kidnapped by some religious fanatic locals. When will people learn? Stay on the path! It's not particularly good, but I've seen worse. And the things the kidnappers want from them are sort of unusual, and thus, entertaining.

Ninotchka stars the lovely Greta Garbo ("Two-Faced Woman") and is supposed to be very funny. I thought it was kind of funny. But Garbo is brilliant as a stern Russian sent to Paris on business who finds herself falling for the man she should hate. Some bits were very good, but overall, I was underwhelmed.

I thought Frost/Nixon was very, very good. One of Ron Howard ("Angels and Demons")'s better films. This is partly due to the excellent performances by both Frank Langella ("The Tale of Despereaux") and Michael Sheen ("Underworld: Rise of the Lycans"), but Howard doesn't try to force things and lets the thing develop on it's own. The last interview is, of course, the best, and it's worth sitting through the entire film for.

The Return of the Living Dead is just a really entertaining zombie movie from 1985. I laughed quite a bit. Besides some zombie dance numbers, and some of the densest characters to grace a screen, we're also given gore, skimpy outfits and bad jokes. A lot of fun.

And then there were Wraiths of Roanoke. I don't know why I'm a sucker for Sci-Fi originals. It's just something we all have to learn to live with. I'm also a sucker for Adrian Paul ("The Heavy"). This movie is really bad. It attempts to explain the lost colony of Roanoke were attacked by Norse spirits. The story is okay, but the effects and pretty much everything else are awful. Poor Adrian Paul.

Under discussion:

Sleeping with the Enemy  (1991)

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past  (2009)

The Spiderwick Chronicles  (2008)

Terminator Salvation  (2009)

The Reader  (2008)

The Reader was my pick for Best Picture last year. I loved the style and the stillness. Kate Winslet ("Revolutionary Road"), David Kross ("Krabat") and Ralph Fiennes ("The Duchess") broke my heart. I had read the book on which this film is based years ago, but can't remember enough to compare. The story follows a young teen who begins an affair with an older woman. Years later, he sees her on trail as a Nazi war criminal. It's thought provoking and thoroughly depressing. I loved it.

Sleeping with the Enemy is one of those quick 90s thrillers we don't see much of now. Julia Roberts ("Duplicity") escapes from an abusive marriage by faking her own death. But then the husband discovers the ruse and comes looking for her. Entertaining but forgettable.

My love for Jennifer Garner ("Juno") and the little bit of charm left to Matthew McConaughey ("Tropic Thunder") after learning he doesn't wear deodorant got me through the mostly routine romantic comedy, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. As my coworker said, it was nice to see the three ghosts used in a non-Christmas fashion. But, though this role calls for that age, McConaughey is getting a little to old to play this romantic comedy role over and over. McConaughey is the consummate bachelor attending his younger brother's wedding where he starts to ruin everything. Garner is the one who got away. Wait to watch this on cable.

I freaking love Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight"). I don't care how many people he cusses out. Terminator Salvation is really more of a platform for Sam Worthington ("Rogue") than Bale, but Bale's still there trying to bring some seriousness to the ridiculous story. Of course, the effects are top notch and the machines look great, but the plot is so thin. And poor Bryce Dallas Howard ("The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond") just spends the whole time staring wide-eyed at the camera, barely speaking. A bit of a waste really. My husband disliked this more than I. He said this film killed the series.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is based on a series of children's books about a family who finds a portal to a magical world. When they move into a new house, Freddie Highmore ("The Golden Compass") finds a book that, when read, opens the gate. Then he must convince his family it's really happening. I got sucking into this film, even while fighting against it. The family tension is believable and the creature effects turn out pretty fantastic. By the end, I couldn't look away. It is a little dark for the PG rating though, so beware of that.

Under discussion:

Fido  (2007)

The Duchess  (2008)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine  (2009)

Obsessed  (2009)

Role Models  (2008)

I got into The Duchess mostly because it looks so beautiful. Kiera Knightly ("Silk") stars as another quirky period heroine. Ralph Fiennes ("The Reader") is cold and serious and just wants a son. The costumes are gorgeous and the landscapes are breathtaking so much so they overshadow the story and characters. Kind of sad really.

Role Models = hilarious. Paul Rudd ("I Love You Man") and Seann William Scott ("The Promotion") are almost outshined by their younger costars - Christopher Mintz-Plasse ("Superbad") and Bobb'e J. Thompson ("Columbus Day") - as they try to bond and put in their community service so as to avoid jail. Of course, they learn and grow along the way. But each step is more amusing than the next. See it.

I was quickly drawn into the colorful quirkiness of Fido. In a future where the dead won't stay dead, a collar has been invented to tame the monsters so they become useful household servants. A long boy befriends his zombie and his entire neighborhood must deal with the consequences. Very entertaining.

If you saw the trailer for Obsessed, you've pretty much seen the whole film. It's average. There is only one mildy surprising event in the film, but I won't spoil that here. A man flirts with a temp at his office and then has to deal with the repercussions of his actions. It's not so bad that it shouldn't be seen. You just shouldn't pay for it. Cable. Wait for cable.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine kind of got a bad rap before it even entered theaters, but I found it thoroughly entertaining. Hugh Jackman ("Australia") gives himself over to the role, making even the cheesy lines work. The audience I saw it with loved him. The effects are good. The fights are good. I've been told the backstory follows the comics fairly well. Just a really fun summer film.

Under discussion:

Newsies  (1992)

Kurt & Courtney  (1998)

He's Just Not That Into You  (2009)

Rachel Getting Married  (2008)

I freaking love Newsies and I don't care who knows it. The love may stem from the fact that I saw it first when I was younger, but it may just be Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight") singing and dancing about. Inspired by actual events, the story follows a group of newsboys as they go on strike when Joseph Pulitzer raises the price of the newspaper. It's still a lot of fun, but some of the choreography is meh and the film is, of course, cheesy. It's Disney after all. But I still love it.

I just got bored watching He's Just Not That Into You. There's no reason for this thing to be 2 1/2 hours long, unless it's trying to live up to the length of the title. A bunch of lessons on relationships, which we should really know already. Though the cast is filled with big names, I enjoyed Justin Long ("Zack and Miri Make a Porno") the most. But he's kind of my favorite actor right now. Maybe watch this when it comes on cable.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona seems like a return to form for writer/director Woody Allen ("Cassandra's Dream"). Two Americans go to Barcelona and get involved with a painter. Then his ex-wife, Penelope Cruz ("Elegy"), turns up to add even more spice to the situation. Cruz just blows up the screen every time she's on, totally deserving her Oscar. She's the best part of the movie. The worst part is the voice-over. But all in all, enjoyable.

Anne Hathaway ("Get Smart") gives an Oscar nominated performance (I'm still catching up on my reviews) in Rachel Getting Married, and she's very impressive. Hathaway stars as a recovering drug addict home for her sister's wedding. The movie is funny, uncomfortable, loving and sometimes painful - just like a real family reunion.

Kurt & Courtney is the infamous documentary that pretty much blames Kurt Cobain's death on Courtney Love. It's a fairly interesting movie, but seems a bit one sided. Love would not be interviewed for the film. Director Nick Broomfield ("Battle for Haditha") has created the perfect film for conspiracy theorists. I enjoyed it, but it's not great.

Under discussion:

Billy Liar  (1963)

The Spiral Staircase  (1946)

Wolf  (1994)

Clear and Present Danger  (1994)

Milk  (2008)

Over 30 reviews behind! This time, I'm blaming Facebook and all it's addictive applications. So the reviews will be short and sometimes sweet, but I'm going to try to catch up a bit today.

Billy Liar was the last of the flimspotting Angry Young Men marathon. A young man with dreams of becoming a screenwriter fantasizes his way through a day of his humdrum existence. Again, though I can respect the quality of the filmmaking, I just did not understand the character motivations. I'm starting to think it's because we don't really have a class system in America and so I can't really grasp the pain of the working class in Britain.

Sean Penn ("All the King's Men") totally deserved the Oscar for his turn in Milk. He transforms into Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold elected office. The film doesn't show Milk's entire life, but begins when he moves to San Francisco. And though it focuses on the politics, it's also a bit of a love story, showing how Milk's relationships were affected by his running for office. Very well done film. Moving with lots of food for thought.

The Spiral Staircase is a tense little thriller that relies more on shadows and suspense than jump-out scares. The plot involves a series of murders in which all of the victims have been handicapped in some way. The heroine has lost her voice and we watch her navigate a dark, scary house unable to call for help as the murderer stalks her.

Harrison Ford ("Crossing Over") really is the epitome of action star. In Clear and Present Danger, he plays CIA agent Jack Ryan who must uncover a plot that goes all the way to the presidency. And though much of the time Ford is embroiled in office politics, he makes it look tense. And then it's time to kick butt and he's good at that too. Some of the computer stuff is dated and seems silly now, but for the most part, the film holds up.

I remember really liking Wolf when I saw it upon it's initial release. It's still entertaining, but now dated. Jack Nicholson ("The Bucket List"), who looks the part and I think is the inspiration for Wolverine's make-up in X-Men, stars as an aging editor who's bitten by a wolf and then begins to change. Along the way, he bites a very smarmy James Spader ("Shadow of Fear") and they both inappropriately sniff Michelle Pfeiffer ("Stardust").

Under discussion:

Kung Fu Panda  (2008)

Revolutionary Road  (2008)

Hamlet 2  (2008)

Hotel for Dogs  (2009)

American Teen  (2008)

American Teen is an interesting documentary following a group of kids as they go through their senior year of high school. It doesn't get too in depth on any of the four main kids, but gives enough that I remembered why I'm glad high school is over. Intercut with the teens interviews and clips of them in their daily activities, are cartoons symbolizing their hopes and fears. I enjoyed the movie, but I didn't love it. Some of the scenes felt too scripted to be a real documentary.

Hamlet 2 has several laugh-out-loud moments, most of which come at the expense of Steve Coogan ("Tropic Thunder")'s pride. Coogan stars as a failed writer/actor who now teaches high school drama and must write a great play to save the program from cancellation. No cows are sacred in this movie and that mostly adds to the humor. Sometimes, though, it's too over the top. A funny movie, but not the year's best comedy.

I was really entertained by Kung-Fu Panda. Jack Black ("Tropic Thunder") voices the title character, a dreaming, over-weight panda who is inexplicably chosen to be a kung-fu hero. The film has a good message, if you believe in yourself, you can do anything. And the animation is really good.

Revolutionary Road seemed to get the most press for reuniting Kate Winslet ("The Reader") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("Body of Lies"). They play a married couple in the 50s who realize that their dreams no longer coincide. This is a really depressing movie. The acting is mostly good, except when DiCaprio starts channeling Jack Nicholson for no reason. And just when the film has dragged you down so far, Michael Shannon ("Before the Devil Knows Your Dead") busts in for some much needed shock and humor. It's worth seeing. Just take some anti-depressants first.

Now, Hotel for Dogs, on the other hand, is a super cute story of two orphans who start a home for stray dogs. Pretty much just like the title implies. I thought the story was sweet. But my husband said it was dreadful and that my pregnancy hormones were influencing my reviewing skills. I told him that he better get used to this kind of thing. Because once we have a kid, we're going to be seeing a lot more movies like this.

Under discussion:

Yentl  (1983)

The Invisible  (2007)

Dan in Real Life  (2007)

Headless Horseman  (2007)

The Unborn  (2009)

By now, you know how I feel about creepy kid movies, so it should come as no surprise that I was super pumped for The Unborn. Sadly, it didn't live up to it's trailer or my expectations, but it didn't totally suck either. I enjoyed the premise, a twin who died in the womb haunting the sibling who lived. And then the mythology, maybe this spirit twin is a stronger presence that needs to be exorcised from our world, was also good. But the dialogue and terrible acting just brought me completely out of the story. The main girl, Odette Yustman ("Cloverfield") wasn't that bad, but her friend, Meagan Good ("Saw V") killed me every time she opened her mouth. I started dreading her appearance on screen.

Yentl has Barbra Steisand ("Meet the Fockers") as a Jewish woman who poses as a man so she can study the Torah. Of course, she falls in love with a classmate, Mandy Patinkin ("Choking Man"), and then all of weirdness happens while she tries to keep her secret. Plus, there's singing. I found it sometimes strange and often touching. Definitely worth watching.

The Invisible is kind of a lame thriller about a kid who gets beaten and left for dead, but his spirit is wandering about trying to get someone to find his body before he actually dies. It entertained me. Partly because I think the main kid, Justin Chatwin ("Middle of Nowhere"), is adorable. But the story is just okay and the acting isn't great. Except for Marcia Gay Harden ("Home"), of course. I say, if it's on, watch it. But don't go to any great lengths to seek it out.

You don't always know from a preview which Steve Carell ("Get Smart") you're going to get, but Dan in Real Life features the subtle and still funny man. The story is very sweet and very realistic. Carell plays a widower raising three girls. They got to a family reunion where Carell falls for his brother's girlfriend. Like all family situations, this movie features many classic moments, both tear-jerking and uncomfortable. Pleasantly surprised by this one.

I'm pretty sure that Headless Horseman is a Sci-Fi channel original. And, of course, I got sucked right in there. In a slasher take on the Sleepy Hollow story, a group of teenagers get stranded in a backwoods, inbred (typical) town where every 7 years, Headless comes looking for 7 heads to feed to hell. It's a weird backstory, and it might even have been more interesting, if the dialogue and acting hadn't been so bad. I realize that this a common complaint of mine. But I just feel that there are so many good actors and writers out there, why can't studios try harder to get better ones?

Under discussion:

Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering  (1996)

Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror  (1998)

Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return  (1999)

Children of the Corn: Revelation  (2001)

The Sci-Fi channel had a little Children of the Corn marathon, and, of course, I jumped right in there. In IV: The Gathering, a young Naomi Watts ("Funny Games") plays a medical student returning home just as the children in her small town start acting strange. There's blood and ridiculousness all over the film. It isn't the worst entry in the series, but even Watts couldn't save this from the terrible editing. The whole series just feeds into my love of scary kid movies.

Which is probably why I kept going with Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror. Excellent title. This movie gets closer to the worst sequel. And another young actress, Eva Mendes ("The Spirit"), pops up in this one. The story is more of a stereotypical slasher for the first half. A group of teenagers come through creepy kidville and then get stranded there. And murdered in gruesome scenarios involving farm utensils. Then David Carradine ("My Suicide"), I kid you not, turns up and the Children of the Corn mythology kicks in. The movie is unintentionally funny and I should have stopped there. But I just kept watching.

Children of the Corn 666: Isaac's Return, not so excellent title, continues the series downward spiral and terrible editing. Smoking crack before entering the editing suite is probably a requirement. The story has an orphan going back to the creepy town to find her birth parents. Of course, everyone there is super weird and warns her to leave. But does she listen? No. Does she have sex with a stranger in a barn? Yes. Should you watch this movie? Probably not.

But, I can't seem to stop myself. Children of the Corn: Revelation is definitely the worst movie in the series. And, I think, the last. This one has a young woman searching for her grandmother in this creepy town where the kids are all here one minute, gone the next and giggling disturbingly. And the editing is even worse. I didn't think it was possible. It's not just that it's too fast and belongs in a Tony Scott film. It's just disorienting and distracting. And gave me a headache. Just avoid.

Under discussion:

Masters of Horror: Incident on and off a Mountain Road  (2006)

Masters of Horror: Cigarette Burns  (2006)

Masters of Horror: Sick Girl  (2006)

Masters of Horror: Fair Haired Child  (2006)

Masters of Horror: Pro-Life  (2006)

I had a little Masters of Horror marathon with the Roku. It's a really amazing show. Genre directors do an hour long "episode," and it's on Showtime, so there's no holds barred scares, disturbing images and gore.It may seem weird to do reviews for episodes of a television series, but they felt like films. And I'm treating them as such. Except they're getting pretty short reviews.

The first of my viewings was Fair Haired Child from director William Malone ("FeardotCom"). A girl is kidnapped and wakes trapped in a basement with a teenage boy. The two try to escape while discovering cryptic warnings carved into their prison. Tense and interesting with a good twist at the end.

Sick Girl, from director Lucky McKee ("The Woods"), follows an entomologist as she finds true love and investigates a new species of insect. It's humorous and disgusting, much like McKee's films. I loved it.

Cigarette Burns, from John Carpenter ("Ghosts of Mars"), is more about disturbing imagery and ideas than scares. And it delivers. A young man whose business is finding hard-to-find films is tasked with locating a print that makes viewers insane. Totally awesome.

Pro-Life, also from Carpenter, features Ron Perlman ("Hellboy II: The Golden Army") as an extremist trying to break into an abortion clinic after his daughter checks in. But that's not the poor girl's only problem, her child is growing at an alarming rate. This one is bloody and very disturbing. Still well done.

Despite a ridiculously long name, Incident On and Off a Mountain Road from director Don Coscarelli ("Bubba Ho-Tep"), starts off tense and then doesn't let up. A woman almost wrecks on a windy mountain road and then finds herself being terrorized by a monster. Another really excellent entry.

Under discussion:

Dick Tracy  (1990)

Enemy Mine  (1985)

Village of the Damned  (1960)

Riding the Bullet  (2004)

The Day the Earth Stood Still  (2008)

I'm never going to get caught up on my reviews. But I'm blaming my husband this time. He got me Roku for Christmas! Now there are too many movies at my fingertips!

Enemy Mine is a movie I've been curious about for awhile. I remember it playing in the background of my childhood, but I've never actually watched it until now. And it's interesting, but it hasn't aged that well. Dennis Quaid ("The Express") stars as a soldier who crash lands on a planet with an alien with whom he is at war. Though mortal enemies, they begin to form a bond and learn about each other's cultures. The first half is a really good survival/learning tolerance movie. The second half is terribly cheesy and looses it's effectiveness when Louis Gossett Jr. ("The Perfect Game"), playing the alien, is out of the picture.

The Day the Earth Stood Still is another remake that doesn't stack up to the original. Keanu Reeves ("The Lake House") plays the alien sent to Earth to decide whether or not we should be distroyed. And he does an okay job of it. He sometimes seems a little too detached. But the reason this movie is only mediocre does not really lie on Keanu's shoulders. It's the story. I know that when doing a remake, you have to make the film your own, but that doesn't mean taking out the heart of the original and putting nothing back in it's place. And if you've got a giant robot, use it right, people! The effects are amazing. Someone took care of Jennifer Connelly ("Reservation Road") unibrow so that didn't drive me crazy like it usually does. And little Jaden Smith ("The Pursuit of Happyness") is just as adorable as his pops. It's not an awful movie, it's just not very good either.

I have a thing for evil kid movies, and the original Village of the Damned is a perfect fix. A village in England is affected by a strange phenomenon where all the residents fall asleep for several hours. After they awaken, all the women turn up pregnant. And when the kids are born, they all have blond hair, strange eyes and powers. At first, the film is just interesting, but then it gets tense as the children grow older. It's more intellectual than explosive. A very good watch.

I also have a thing for Stephen King adaptations. I know, there's definitely something wrong with me. I caught Riding the Bullet on Sci-Fi one night, and I'm not sure whether I'm happy or sad about this fact. A college kid in the 60s learns his mother is in the hospital and then tries to hitchhike home to see her. Of course, he sees a lot of crazy things and meets the ghost of David Arquette ("Hamlet 2") who forces him to make a terrible choice. The story is good. It is King after all. But the execution is not that great. Director Mick Garris ("Desperation") is just too in-your-face with the camera and the cutting.

When I was young, I loved Dick Tracy. And you know what? It's still good. Oh yeah. Director/star Warren Beatty ("Town and Country") has a commitment to the character that really makes the whole thing work. Plus the color and the sets just feel like the cartoon. And Madonna ("Arthur and the Invisibles") is perfect on the soundtrack and as Breathless Mahoney. Sure, it's a little cheesy. But it's also totally fun. And you won't believe all the big stars covered in make-up.

Under discussion:

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning  (1961)

Beast of Bray Road  (2005)

Australia  (2008)

Twilight  (2008)

Recount  (2008)

Australia. Wow. It's three hours. It's an experience. I ended up liking it, but the first 45 minutes were so much like Tideland that I threw up a little in my mouth. And, at first, the child's voice-over drove me crazy. I fought through it, and was rewarded with a shirtless Hugh Jackman ("Deception") and some really gorgeous scenery. The film is definitely too long, and I had to remind myself that Nicole Kidman ("The Golden Compass") really can act. She spends the better part of the film running around with her mouth hanging open like Bella in Twilight. I did end up involved in the story, but the film was a bit of a let down. I've seen Baz Luhrmann ("Moulin Rouge") do better.

Thank you Sci-Fi Channel for The Beast of Bray Road. Based on actual werewolf sightings in Wisconsin, the story follows a new sheriff as he tries to catch the beast terrifying his small town. It's cheesy and ridiculous and I loved pretty much every minute of it. The acting is okay, but the actors seem to be giving it their all. This is a fun one for a rainy afternoon.

So, this podcast I love, filmspotting, is planning an Angry Young Men marathon, and I'm trying to get ahead of the game. But two movies in, I am not digging it. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is about this factory worker who is having an affair with a married woman, trying to woo a pretty young woman and also drinking as much as he can. He's kind of a jerk. Albert Finney ("Before the Devil Knows You're Dead") is amazing in the lead. Watching him was pretty much the highlight of the film. I think I just don't like mean people. So, I respect the film for it's portrayal of his bleak existence, but I'd never watch it again.

Ah, Twilight, how do I love thee. I think director Catherine Hardwicke ("The Nativity Story") handled Twilight pretty well. It is a freaking long book cut down to a two hour movie. The film focuses on the love story, which is most of what the book is about. Robert Pattinson ("The Summer House") is super hot as Edward. And Kristen Stewart ("Jumper") is super serious as Bella. They both run around with their mouths open a little two much, but maybe they had colds or something. Anyway, the look and feel of the movie is right on, very gray and cloudy. I had a lot of fun watching this, and I hope the series finds it's legs with the next entry.

I caught Recount on HBO while I was in a hotel one day. And I found myself riveted. It's a chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 presidential election, and, for something that could be so dry, it's surprisingly engaging. There are more names than you can shake a stick at in this film, but Kevin Spacey ("21") really sticks out and made me remember why I think he's a good actor. Though definitely biased in favor of the Democrats, this is an interesting look at how politicians and lawyers run things.

Under discussion:

The Day the Earth Stood Still  (1951)

The Strangers  (2008)

The Deaths of Ian Stone  (2007)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall  (2008)

Strangers  (2008)

For some reason, I thought The Fall was a foreign film. It's not. It's just a beautiful, tragic story of a little girl in the hospital and a young man who tells her stories while they heal. Only it's way more. It broke my heart. I cried and laughed and enjoyed the visual delight of the stories. See it.

A classic sci-fi film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, is about to get the remake treatment. This version has a polite, well-dressed alien in the form of Michael Rennie ("Assignment Terror"), trying to save the Earth from itself. The movie gives an interesting look at how an outsider might see our world. It also shows how humans are easily led to distrust what they don't understand, outsiders of nay sort. I hope the remake can capture at least some of this.

I really loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Jason Segel ("Knocked Up") stars as a musician who's actress girlfriend dumps him. Then he goes to Hawaii to try to get over her, only she's there, too. It's sweet sometimes and seems like a real relationship. But it's also hilarious. Often with the main people, but the side characters are all memorable and funny as well. And the mock CSI is brilliant. Can't wait to see this again.

Writer/director Bryan Bertino's feature debut The Strangers The Strangers (2008)is a mesmerizing nightmare. A couple find themselves in a remote cabin tormented by three masked strangers. Liv Tyler ("The Incredible Hulk") and Scott Speedman ("Adoration") are really the only two with any screen time, and they are totally believable. The colors of the film are great, warm and dark. The atmosphere is creepy and leads us in slowly so that we buy into the terror on screen. I can't wait to see more from Bertino.

An After Dark Horrorfest movie, The Deaths of Ian Stone is one of their better offerings. Mike Vogel ("Caffeine") stars as a young man who wakes every day in a slightly different life, only to be hunted down and killed by mysterious clawed shadow creatures. The effects are quite good. And I enjoyed the mythology and slow build to the reveal of why this is happening to Vogel.

Under discussion:

Look Back in Anger  (1958)

Safe Men  (1998)

Day Watch  (2007)

The Haunting of Molly Hartley  (2008)

The Haunting of Molly Hartley seems to be getting terrible reviews, but I enjoyed it. The story revolves around a girl whose parents sold her soul to the devil when she was a baby. On her 18th birthday, she'll become evil. But then the mom has second thoughts and tries to kill her. The story starts slow and just builds and builds on the creep factor. A couple of scenes stuck in min mind long after the movie ended. However, the climax is pretty rushed, especially coming after all that build up. The end of the story is very satisfying. Plus, the film has prep school and secret societies. Two of my favorite movie themes. Definitely worth a rental.

I didn't know anything about House until it was time to watch it, at which point, someone mentioned it was a Christian-based horror movie. So I spent much of my time trying to puzzle that out. I wish I hadn't known going in. In fact, I probably shouldn't be mentioning it here, but it does help the end make a little more sense. Anyway, besides the end, the movie is not much different than any other horror movie. Two couples take refugee from the rain in a creepy inn where the owners are weird, to say the least. Then they get trapped inside, and all their seedy secrets are revealed. The editing is ridiculous and the acting terrible. I wish I could say this is a good movie, jut it's just not.

Based on a play, Look Back in Anger has Richard Burton ("1984") snarling and yelling all over the place. I can't say I really understood all the character motivations. Burton lives with his wife and a roommate in a small London flat, and then the wife leaves because she can't take the emotional abuse, and Burton takes up with her friend who he seemed to hate before. It's not visually exciting, but Burton is so good it's almost impossible to look away as his eyes burn through the screen.

Safe Men is a consistently amusing comedy starring four greats: Sam Rockwell ("Choke"), Steve Zahn ("Strange Wilderness"), Mark Ruffalo ("Blindness") and Paul Giamatti ("Fred Claus"). Rockwell and Zahn are performance artists who get mistaken for master safe crackers. Hilarity ensues. Some of the movie is laugh out loud funny, but all of it is entertaining. Check this one out.

Day Watch is the sequel to the Russian hit, Night Watch. The story picks up pretty much where the other left off - a group of good super naturals and a group of bad super naturals try to maintain the ancient balance of power. Only one group is ready to tip the scales. The visuals are again fabulous, ant the mythology interesting. I don't know if I liked it better than Night Watch, but it's definitely a good follow up. It could also stand on it's own. I'm anxious for the third installment.

Under discussion:

Pet Sematary  (1989)

Step Up  (2006)

Stephen King's The Mist  (2007)

Saw V  (2008)

I loved The Mist. Another pairing of director Frank Darabont ("The Majestic") with material from writer Stephen King makes me want them to work together all the time. King knows how to create characters and they all work here. The story starts fast. The claustrophobia is great, as well as the reactions of the people trapped in a supermarket when a strange monster inhabited mist descends on the town. Marcia Gay Harden ("Into the Wild") is in top form here. Excellent, gut wrenching ending. See it now.

Control is the biopic about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division. I don't know much about the subject matter, but the film seemed to paint a pretty honest portrait. Shot in black and white, Sam Riley ("24 Hour Party People") as Curtis, is sometimes painful to watch as he deals with epilepsy. Samantha Morton ("Elizabeth: The Golden Age") is equally good as his wife, Deborah. The film uses much of Joy Division's music, as well as other music from that era. I didn't love it, but that may have been because it was so bleak and depressing.

Step Up is pretty much everything you could want in a teen dance movie. There's a love story between two people from different worlds. There's angst. And, of course, lots of dancing. Quite entertaining and a feel good ending.

I caught Pet Sematary on AMC during their Halloween Horror Fest, and it was just as creepy as I remembered. However, the acting's pretty bad. I didn't remember that. But director Mary Lambert ("14 Women") handled Stephen King's story well, and all the parts that are supposed to be scary totally deliver. And we can learn something from this - Never bury your pets, or children, in an old Indian burial ground. Side note: to this day, I cannot spell cemetery correctly. I blame this book and film.

I don't really have anything good to say about Saw V. The series, which is not my favorite anyway, just ground to a screeching halt. Sure, even though Jigsaw's dead and the movie ends setting up a sequel, the fun has gone out of it. No interesting characters. No really cool traps. I tried to take a nap, but it was too loud. Just watch some old Friday the 13ths. They may be bad, but at least they're entertaining.

Under discussion:

A Sound of Thunder  (2005)

Reincarnation  Production Year

Eagle Eye  (2008)

Eagle Eye is a pretty entertaining spy thriller. Of course, I think Shia LaBeouf ("Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull") rocks. I believed his ordinary man in extraordinary situation. The action starts off pretty fast and then doesn't let up until the end. Could I see where it was going after about half an hour? Yes. Did I still want to know how it got there? Yes. So, a fun two hour diversion. Just beware, Billy Bob Thorton ("Mr. Woodcock") is looking more and more like a living skeleton. Creepy.

A Sound of Thunder has a really interesting premise. In the future, man has created a machine that allows us to jump back in time. Only Ben Kingsley ("The Love Guru") is using it to take wealthy men back to hunt dinosaurs. And, of course, one tiny thing goes wrong and Ed Burns ("27 Dresses") has to scramble to save life as we know it. The CG is bad. I mean really bad. And the dialogue is often silly. However, I found myself entertained when it popped up on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Blindness should have been a really good movie, and elements of the good were there. But, somehow, and I haven't been able to put my finger on it exactly, it just didn't work. The story follows a group of people affected by a sudden plague of blindness. Only Julianne Moore ("I'm Not There") retains her sight, and she becomes the eyes for this group after they ar quarantined in an old hospital. Of course, all manner of atrocities ensue. It's a bleak story. the cinematography reflects this. And the film follows the book very faithfully, which is usually a plus. I don't even know exactly what to complain about. I don't usually mind depressing stories or gross and despicable things on screen. But this film just did not work for me, and I can't recommend it.

Death Row a.k.a. Haunted Prison, is a Sci-Fi Channel Original, and it's not one of the better offerings. Jake Busey ("Time Bomb"), yes, you read it right, stars as the leader of a group of thieves who take refuge in an abandoned prison as they try to escape police. Also in the prison is a group of filmmakers who are shooting a documentary about the building. But the prison has it's own plan, and the groups are thrown together as members are mysteriously killed off by the ghosts of inmates. The acting is atrocious, the dialogue not much better, but something kept me watching. Maybe the gore?

Reincarnation is one of the After Dark horror films, which, I'm discovering, are really hit or miss. This is one of the hits. A Japanese filmmakers is doing a movie about a seemingly random brutal slaying in a hotel. As he recreates the set, the people drawn to the project begin to have strange dreams and visions. Sometimes the movie is confusing, but always creepy, and the end is very satisfying. Check this one out.

Under discussion:

The Getaway  (1972)

Jules and Jim  (1962)

Baby Mama  (2008)

Righteous Kill  (2008)

Return to House on Haunted Hill  (2007)

Righteous Kill reunites two acting greats, Al Pacino ("Ocean's Thirteen") and Robert De Niro ("Stardust"). I was intrigued enough to get to the theater, but really the film is just a glorified made-for-TV cop drama. It's very predictable. Neither De Niro or Pacino really bring anything new to their roles of cops tracking  a serial killer who is probably one of their own. I did enjoy seeing De Niro play the more angry role. Just wait for this to come on cable.

With funnywomen Tina Fey ("30 Rock") and Amy Poehler ("Saturday Night Live") in the leads, Baby Mama should have been a big basket of funny. But, alas, it was not. Fey wants a baby, but is unable to conceive, so she hires Poehler to be her surrogate. Poehler is white-trash. Fey is upscale business. I guess writer/director Michael McCullers ("Thunderbirds," Baby Mama is his directorial debut) thought hijinks would ensue. However, the only funny bits were Poehler peeing in the sink and everything involving the doorman, Romany Malco ("The Love Guru"), who I couldn't get enough of. Also, Fey and love interest Greg Kinnear ("Ghost Town") have zero chemistry. Just skip it.

The Getaway stars the ever cool Steve McQueen ("The Hunter") as a thief just released from jail. His wife, Ali MacGraw ("Glam"), has to do some shady stuff to get him an early release, and McQueen must pull off a heist for the corrupt warden once he's on the outside. The film is directed by Sam Peckinpah ("The Osterman Weekend")  so there's loads of violence, slow motion and female issues. It also takes it's time getting where it's going. But McQueen is awesome, the shots are amazing. It's worth the time.

Jules and Jim is a famous French movie from director Francios Truffaut ("Confidentially Yours"). Jules and Jim are great friends who fall for the same woman. Then there's lots of voiceover and ridiculous philosophizing. The girl will do anything to get attention and the men will put up with her shenanigans. I didn't really care for it. I couldn't get behind any of the characters. In fact, most of the time they made me really mad. And this distracted me from any other goodness the film may hold. Maybe I was in the wrong mood, but I didn't get why this is so great.

Usually, with my love of bad horror movies, I can find something good to say about them, but I'm at a loss with Return to House on Haunted Hill. Even the ghosts weren't very creepy. Someone was drawn and quartered, so that was kind of neat. But bad acting, dialogue and plot just wiped that all out.

Under discussion:

The Andromeda Strain  (1971)

The Last Kiss  (2006)

Doomsday  (2008)

Sleuth  (2007)

Smart People  (2008)

Smart People (2008) is a light dramedy starring Dennis Quaid ("Vantage Point") as a self-absorbed, egotistical professor who begins to change his life after an accident leaves him unable to drive. He's surrounded by quirky family, most notably Thomas Haden Church ("Spider-man 3"), the best part of the film. I thought some of it was trying to hard, but mostly it's entertaining. Something to relax with on a gloomy day.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh ("The Magic Flute"), Sleuth brings together both Alfies, Michael Caine ("The Dark Knight") and Jude Law ("My Blueberry Nights"), and allows them to act their pants off. Sometimes literally. Adapted from Anthony Shaffer ("The Wicker Man")'s play, and a remake of 1972 film, in which Caine also starred, the action is all set in Caine's home. But it is an elaborate and beautiful contraption, almost a character itself. Branagh keeps it from being too static with interesting shots. Caine's character has discovered that Law is sleeping with his wife, and this confrontation puts both actors in top form. I was reminded why I once thought Law was a great actor. Definitely check this out.

Doomsday is a glorious mess from writer/director Neil Marshall ("The Descent"). Part Escape from New York and part Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Marshall brings in everything from removable spying eyes to medieval knights. The acting and dialogue are over the top, and there are many holes in the plot. But it doesn't really matter. Everyone involved seems to be having a great time, and I went ride along for the ride.

I found the original Andromeda Strain to be a bit boring. Made in 1971 by director Robert Wise ("Rooftops"), the plot follows a team of scientists as they investigate a meteor which fell to earth and infected a small town with a deadly virus. The movie is a little heavy on the science, which, though I guess it made it seem more real, slowed the film way down. Still, one of the classic sci-fi stores and worth the watch.

I didn't hate The Last Kiss, but I became pretty disgusted with most of the characters by the end of the film. Trying to capitalize on star Zach Braff ("Fast Track")'s success with Garden State, The Last Kiss was marketed as a similar film, but it just isn't. Four male friends try to be adults and either work out their relationship problems, or run from them. Even Casey Affleck ("Gone Baby Gone"), who I love, was worthless. I just wanted to shake all these guys and tell them to stop being so whiny. I can't recommend it.

Under discussion:

Live Flesh  (2006)

The Breed  (2006)

The Pineapple Express  (2008)

Mirrors  (2008)

Lost Boys 2: The Tribe  (2008)

I really enjoyed Pineapple Express. I laughed so much that I thought I would choke on my food. Sure, Seth Rogan ("Stepbrothers") yells a little too much, and, in a couple of places, the film drags a little. But over all, very, very funny. James Franco ("In the Valley of Elah") stars as Rogan's pot dealer to whom Rogan confesses he has witnessed a crime. The two then go on the run. I can't wait to watch this again.

Live Flesh is a gorgeous film by writer/director Pedro Almodovar ("Volver"). Like many of Almodovar's films, sometimes the plot takes back seat to the colors and visuals on screen, but it doesn't take away from the film. Javier Bardem ("Vicky Cristina Barcelona") stars as a cop who gets paralyzed by a stray bullet. After the shooter is released from jail, he begins stalking Bardem's wife. And then it's weird and beautiful. See it.

Mirrors isn't really awful. It's just not very good, either. Kiefer Sutherland ("The Sentinel") tries really hard to act like the end of this film isn't a giant mess, but even he can't save it. The beginning of the film is tense, creepy and mirrors are scary all on their own. Then, I guess, director Alexandre Aja ("The Hills Have Eyes") just lost control of it. I don't even know what happened. I just got bored. What a sad waste of a potentially awesome idea.

The Breed is basically about a group of college kids who have to fight off some really smart dogs. Some of this was pretty bad, but the actors are all having a good go of it. And those dogs were scary. I would have had trouble fighting them, too. Luckily, this group has Michelle Rodriguez ("Battle in Seattle") to save them. Fun.

Wow, I don't even know where to begin with Lost Boys: The Tribe. It's awful, and yet entertaining. The dialogue is terrible, and yet, I found myself chuckling. The music is not nearly as good as the first film, but the remake of the "Thou Shall Not Cry" song (I don't know it's real title) was interesting. Angus Sutherland ("Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay") is not nearly the actor big brother Kiefer was in the first film. But the plot is pretty much the same. If you like seeing Corey Feldman ("Terror Inside") killing vampires and spouting ridiculous one-liners then this is for you. There's also lots of gratuitous nudity and gore. I admit, I had fun.