A's Review: Requiem for a Dream

I just made the mistake of watching Requiem for a Dream again. As critically acclaimed as it is, most people rarely watch it more than once. Requiem tells the story of four characters and their spiraling downfalls into misery resulting from their addictions. Harry is a heroin dealer whose own addiction to the drug makes him lose his money and his health. His best friend Tyrone helps Harry deal, but he falls into the wrong crowd and gets himself arrested. Harry’s girlfriend Marion only wants to help Harry make more money so that they can live a good life. When Harry’s supply of cocaine to sell runs out, she resorts to prostitution to maintain their living. Harry’s mother Sara receives a scam phone call offering her a spot on her favorite game show, which leads her to take diet pills (which are actually speed) from a shady doctor in order to lose weight. Each of these four characters finds their dream shattered by their addictions, and each actor is believable in their part. Marlon Wayans in particular is unexpectedly good as Tyrone, in a serious and dramatic role. The soundtrack is unnerving and the cinematography keeps you interested. There are some scenes, like Sara’s hallucinations, that are a little over-the-top and hard to take seriously, but overall, the movie leaves a lasting impression and is one of the greatest.

5/5

J's Review: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part I

First off, this was the best movie in my opinion of the entire Harry Potter series. The movie itself flowed very nicely, and there were rare moments when I found myself bored by irrelevant dialog and scenes. The acting was by far was top notch in this film. Having Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) involved more in a Harry Potter movie brings the acting to a higher level that was not reached by any movie before the Deathly Hallows. Also, the edition of actors such as Bill Nighy (R. Scrimgeour), Peter Mullan (Yaxley), and Rhys Ifans (X. Lovegood) makes every scene that much more enjoyable to watch.

It's also nice to see a Harry Potter movie that doesn't focus so much on adding little jokes to get laughs from the audience. This movie is meant to be intense and scary, and that goal was definitely met. The movie will have you disappointed when it's over because it means you have to wait a year until Part II, but Part I was so good that you can watch it over and over again until Part II comes around.
4/5

J's Review: Zombieland

If you are in the mood for a zombie movie that focuses more on humor than the actual violence of a typical zombie movie, than Zombieland hits the spot. The plot was very simple, and in reality the movie dragged. The violence was there but only in the beginning and conclusion of the film. The movie left me wanting more violence, and for a world that has been apparently taken over by zombies, there were far too many uninterrupted car rides. Zombieland failed at incorporating both zombie violence and comedy; it could learn a few things from Shaun of the Dead.
2.5/5

A's Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I

Best movie of the series. I don't want to ruin anything, but it was very faithful to the book with just the right amount of humor and suspense. It was much darker and scarier than any of the other films. The Malfoy's Manor scene at the climax and the trio's break-in to Umbridge's office were highlights.

4.5/5

A's Review: Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal Activity 2 is a step above its predecessor, with better acting, more interesting characters, and scarier scenes. Thanks to the set-up of multiple cameras in different parts of the house and yard, more suspense is created and the audience gets the feeling that anything can happen. After all, there's only so much you can do when the only nighttime shots are in a simple bedroom. This isn't to say that the movie is without flaws. Although I like that the director tried to change things up a little by putting a camera outside instead of just in the house, the swimming pool shots were cheesy and made the audience laugh rather than jump. Also, the Hispanic maid was such a stereotype--it's been done already. Shouting "evil" in Spanish and throwing incense around the house doesn't scare anybody anymore, are we really supposed to believe that just because she's foreign, she has the power to sense demons?

Aside from that, the acting was solid and the plot needed no further work. In fact, I really liked how they integrated scenes from the first movie to give the audience a reference point. Everything tied together really well. I don't want to give anything away, but if you thought Katie getting pulled out of her bedroom in the first movie was scary, you're going to love most of the scenes in Paranormal Activity 2.

3.5/5

J's Review: The Donner Party

The Donner Party is a movie made in late 2009 based on the true story of a group of people, who were stranded in the mountains during a brutal winter, while trying to reach California during the Gold Rush. The story is a great one, and I was personally very excited to see that it had been made into a movie; however, the movie itself was not so great. The movie was very slow paced and the majority of the scenes seemed to repeat one after another. Despite the slow pace Crispin Glover who plays William Foster in this movie gives a great performance. His emotions are believable and not over acted, and he also is someone the audience can love to hate while watching the movie. None the less, the great acting of Glover cannot save this movie from being anything better than a boring movie you would watch in your high school history class.
2/5

M's Review: The House of the Devil

This movie kind of caught me off guard. I was doing some homework when my brother comes home with a new movie. I didn't really care right then and there but then he showed me a trailer. I just forgot about studying and popped the dvd in. This movie, set in the 1980's, had this John Carpenter meets Rob Zombie feel. The thing I liked about this movie was that there weren't a lot of characters and the characters that were in it, had a lot of personality to them. The story is about a girl who gets her first apartment but cant make the payments. She finds a babysitting flier and decides to go for the job. I don't want to spoil it for all you horror-nuts but let me just say there is no baby (spoiler, but it shown during the trailer so its ok) and Satanism, something that fans of the Exorcism will be chewing on for days, maybe even weeks later because this movie is the real deal and it goes to show you that people aren't always what they seem to be. Movie starts off slow but that eerie feel never wears off so hit the lights, grab some snacks, and try your best not to close your eyes ;] 4/5