The Innocents (1961)

Based on Henry James' classic "The Turn of the Screw." The Innocents focuses on a young governess for two children who becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.

     One word: Creepster. Everything about this movie is creepy, and it is brilliant. Despite being miscast because of her age, Deborah Kerr makes up for her disadvantage by giving the kind of performance thriller actresses today can only dream about. Her facial expressions are haunting, perfectly capturing the mix of confusion and terror that any woman would feel during the situations Kerr finds herself in. The children are good actors, but it is the young boy that truly finds his character and nails it. The girl...eh. She's kind of annoying, honestly, but that's ok. It's the boy we watch, and it is the boy that frightens us. 

      "The Turn of the Screw" is one of the most confusing books I've ever read, but also the most fascinating. Because of its first-person perspective, we are left wondering if any of it is real or has this young girl completely lost her mind. In the movie, it's a little less vague, but there are moments when we seriously question the sanity of Kerr's character. It makes the movie open to interpretation, and the intro and conclusion of Kerr's prayer is magnificent. Love it. Totally creepy.

     I like it in black and white. It captures that Gothic mood so crucial to the story that 1960's technicolor would have ruined. In the book, sexuality was a key part of the controversy that Henry James sought, and in the movie it is maintained in its subtleness, adding even more layers to the complex story. 

    This is a real thriller. No gore, no blood, no monsters...just dark corridors, terrified faces, random noises, candlelight and creepy children. It will haunt you. You will spend the rest of your life trying to piece together the puzzle. I don't know if anyone ever will. 

Date Movie (2006)

Spoof of romantic comedies which focuses on a man (Campbell), his crush (Hannigan), his parents (Coolidge, Willard), and her father (Griffin)

    Imdb.com shows this movie as having a star rating of 2.6 out of 10. And yet I watched it. I do not know why. I'd like to blame medication, my lack of school work, anything. But alas, I cannot. I saw this because I actually thought it might be funny. How wrong I was.

     First of all, the acting is terrible and I hated everyone, even Alyson Hannigan, who I generally find appealing. The spoofs were unfunny, vulgar, and random so the movie felt like a series of bad impression sketches, which has been the downfall of other recent spoof movies, like Disaster Movie (which, I will admit, was worse than Date Movie) and Epic Movie (equally bad, I'd say). 

    Seriously, I'm lying belly down on my mattress at 3 in the morning trying to think of anything else to write about this movie, but it was just awful. There was NOTHING redeeming about it. Not one funny sketch, not one moment where I smiled...nothing. This would be an AWFUL movie to take a date to. 

   If you liked the Scary Movie franchise, maybe you'd like this, I do not know. Those weren't that great in my opinion anyway, but they did have a slightly more coherent plot, but still much too crude for my taste. 

    In a nutshell, avoid this movie like the plague. This one finally convinced me to stop watching these spoof movies and give up on my dream of a good spoof film anytime soon. I'll stick to old Mad TV sketches and SNL from now on, thank you. Even Family Guy has better cultural references. I am not joking, and I don't care if I sound obnoxious, BURN THIS FILM. BURN IT. It does not deserve a happy ending.

The Fourth Kind (2009)

Fact-based thriller involving an ongoing unsolved mystery in Alaska, where one town has seen an extraordinary number of unexplained disappearances during the past 40 years and there are accusations of a federal cover up. -IMDB.com

     First of all, this is not a fact-based movie. The marketing on this film took its cue from The Blair Witch Project and other such similar "documentaries" to such an extreme that Nome, Alaska went up in arms against the deceptive ads. I myself being somewhat a believer in alien encounters, was fooled for a while until I did more research and realized it was all just a way to promote the movie. Moving on from that however, the movie was quite fascinating.

    Because the director had access to "real" footage of interviews and such, the split screen technique was used often, one side portraying the real person with the actor miming the actual events. It was an unusual move and definitely gave the film an amateur, real-life feel (it was appropriate this was released around the same time as Paranormal Activity, a movie essentially filmed like a youtube video). The movie cut between the plot and the director's interview with our victim of the alien encounter. Honestly, she was the creepiest out of any of the movie's characters, human or alien. There was a lot of talk about owls in the movie, and when I first saw her, she reminded me very much of an owl, with her hollow, shadow-rimmed eyes and creepily whispery voice. There are several scenes where she cries, and it was quite possibly the most haunting sound I've heard in my life.

     I like the plot. It's fast, gripping, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. It has plenty of gotcha! moments, so much that a girl in my theater screamed during an intense spontaneous levitation scene. It's not an uplifting movie however, shedding little hope to the traumatic experience of alien abduction. However, like District 9, it moves away from traditional alien movies and employs psychological horror instead of special effects - you never see the aliens, only shadows - and since the similar made Paranormal Activity profited so much, I anticipate more movies that stray away from tradition and turn classic movie food into something unique. 

District 9 (2009)

20 years ago, an alien spaceship appeared over South Africa. Now, the aliens been moved to a slum by the government who eagerly tries to learn the secrets of their technology. A government agent, sent to evict District 9 into a new area, finds himself caught in a living nightmare when he discovers a mysterious alien cylinder.

District 9 is revolutionary. Shot in a documentary style, the film pans over African slums, corporate offices and alien vs. human violence. The movie is extremely violent and dirty, from the numerous shoot-outs, other war scenes, medical rooms, and shrimp-looking aliens sifting through piles of garbage. Everything about the alien genre is turned on its head and will not doubt be copied in years to come.

The director was genius in casting unknowns, so all our attention is focused on the story. It uses the popular alien theme to build upon the experiences Neill Blomkamp (the director) had during his childhood in South Africa during apartheid. It forces questions about equal rights, the rules of war and more.

This isn't my favorite kind of movie. It's too grungy, too realistic, too painful to watch. However, it is extremely well-done and thought-provoking because of its similarities to the real struggles in South Africa and other countries. It sticks with people. It's brilliant.

Julie & Julia (2009)

Based on the two true stories of Julia Child, the wife of an American diplomat discovering her calling in Paris, and Julie Powell, an insurance worker with a love of cooking and Julia.


This is the kind of movie that makes you feel good. It's got Meryl Streep and food, two of the best things on this green earth. From the moment the film begins and all you hear is Meryl Streep's Julia Child voice, a smile finds its way unto your face. We watch Julia and her adoring husband fall in love with France and French cuisine, and the Julia Child the world recognizes is born. Meryl Streep is brilliant as Julia. Her physical acting, the voice...the actress once again proves herself to the best professional in Hollywood today. When Amy Adams appears on screen, her unpretentious charm makes you feel right with her in the dirty apartment of Queens as she investigates the tiny kitchen. Her gentle bravery in taking on a project in which she cooks her way through Julia Child's legendary book and blogs is inspiring. I found myself drooling over the collage of food images that Nora (the talented director of classics like "Sleepless in Seattle") flashes on the screen: ducks dripping with butter, chocolate cakes crusted with almonds, raspberry creams, and more.

"Julie & Julia" is the kind of movie that makes you appreciate things more. We went out to dinner after the movie, and I found myself savoring my Japanese Gyoza (pork dumplings/pot stickers) more than I might have otherwise. It makes me believe my little movie blog can be something someday.

G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra (2009)

An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.


This was not "Gone With The Wind." It didn't pretend to be. It was awful, and it embraced it. No one could act, the dialogue could have been written by a 13-year old boy, and even the graphics lacked something. There was one scene I couldn't believe: a plane flies over a desert, and it looked half-finished. Where was the money going? Sienna Miller's skin-tight, bust-enhancing leather suits?

Ok, I may be being too harsh. It was an awesome toy commercial. It fed into fantasies; the women, the machines, everything was over the top and much more scientifically advanced than we actually are now.

Any relationships developed in the movie happened before the actual movie and were revealed in a series of flashbacks, so the movie didn't have to spend any time on them. They were assumptions.

I can't even write more about this movie. It was laughable. It wasn't screened for critics, and STILL got top dollar. Sad.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life.

This was an amazing movie. It was chilling, subtle, and perfectly paced. From the first two minutes to the climatic ending, my emotions grew from immediate suspicion to full-blown horror. The reason this film is so terrifying is because it relies on a true-to-life atmosphere. There's no demons jumping out of every corner, no gore, and for the most of the movie, we just watch Rosemary in her apartment growing increasingly worried over her pregnancy. It's very relatable, with a few exceptions, of course. The acting is brilliant. Mia Farrow is excellent as Rosemary, a very young, very trusting individual whose state of mind begins to crumble. Her husband Guy (John Cassavetes) always creeped me out for some reason, but he serves his purpose in the movie. Ruth Gordon as the eccentric neighbor stole every scene she was in. She was funny, over-the-top and scary. She totally deserved that Oscar she got that year.

This is a disturbing movie. It is done so well it seems like it could really happen in any of the old apartment buildings anywhere. Appearances are deceiving. To make matters even MORE disturbing, it was only another year till Roman Polanski's wife Sharon Tate and his unborn baby were brutally murdered by Charles Manson's family. Watch the movie with a firm grip on reality and truth. There is dark power in the world, yes, but the power of good is infinitely stronger.