There’s been many ghost films over the past decades, and there’s not much original material or horror devices you can inject within the horror genre these days. Especially films that involve ghosts and spirits because it’s all been done to death. This film is no exception applying to that formula, but it does tend to use the tired clichés with much tenacity that I found it hard to dislike this. No matter how hard I tried, it was tough trying to label it awful, because it isn’t awful. It’s far from being scary, but it’s not dull either.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Wrong Turn (2003) (DVD)
Chris Finn is headed for a job interview and is out on the road of the Appalachian Hills in West Virginia, until he gets lost. He enters upon a deserted back road where he crashes into a car and meets five hikers who are also lost. When they go to search for help, they’ll discover they’re being hunted by three skilled deformed freaks who want them for supper. Despite bombing at the box-office and receiving mostly negative reviews from critics, I was surprised that this wasn’t a horrible movie; as a matter of fact this is really creepy and entertaining… and almost underrated. This reminded me of the slew of psychotic hillbilly flicks that have been released over the years, but even though this is routine in its scares and plot, it’s entertaining and never lets go with its thrills and chills.
Life or Something Like It (2002)
This movie isn’t as deep as it wanted to be, if it even wanted to be deep at all; it’s actually just pseudo-spiritual nonsense when you get right down to it. Angelina Jolie picks one of the rotten scripts out of the entire flock with a story that is nothing but fluff and unbearable melodrama. What should have been a meditation on a woman seeking self-analysis becomes nothing more than a comedy that tries every time to tells odd jokes but fails miserably.
Minority Report (2002)
In the movie it’s the future (2054) and we now see Washington D.C. where a system known as pre-crime is born. Pre-Crime is a new law system where people known as pre-cognitive are used as machines which can foretell the future and predict a major crime. Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, one of the best officers who bust the people who commit the pre-crimes. The system is perfect, flawless and it does the job… but what happens when the system turns on you? Now, accused of killing a man in thirty-six hours he doesn’t know, he is now on the run from his own task force and a Government official (Colin Farrell) who wants him at all costs.
Waking Up in Reno (2001)
For a film with such a great cast like Natasha Richardson, Patrick Swayze, Charlize Theron, and Billy Bob Thornton, it’s hard to believe this is such a bad film. The great cast manages to make due with the horrible script and directing including Theron and Richardson who are great as best friends who discover one another and their personalities. What’s worse is this is not just a bad film but a bad comedy and what makes it a bad comedy is that the script and antics performed by the actors force no laughs from the audience and basically will leave the audience with a stone cold face.
Welcome to Collinwood (2002)
Coming across as a pseudo “The Sting” except with much more comedy, five lowlife criminals discover the ultimate heist and decide to pull it off, but discover it’s not as glorious as it may be. This is hilarious. I have never laughed so hard in a modern comedy as I have with this; most of the antics reminded me of an “I Love Lucy” episode from the incident in the funhouse, to the water filled sewer, to when they have to cross the heated pipe and carnage ensues, this is hilarious. Director/writer team Anthony Russo and Joe Russo create fresh and original comedy out of a typical plot for a movie that could have easily fumbled into bad territory.
Far From Heaven (2002)
Upon first glance of the opening scenes of the film, it somewhat resembles Rockwellian landscape where this family lives in a quiet and serene neighborhood with trivial problems that arise occasionally. But as the film progresses, director Todd Haynes slowly unfolds this world that resembles a painting and shows that no one ever has the perfect life. I really wanted to love this movie, but there were such drawbacks that inevitably kept me from truly appreciating the material.