One of the primary faults behind “Paranormal Activity 4” is that it makes promises it just can’t keep. It swears new scares with the use of the kinect and light beams and doesn’t quite fulfill the potential for the plot device. It introduces a new protagonist, but never fully develops her. And most importantly it explains that it has all led up to this, but there really isn’t a huge development in the storyline. I’m still not sure why what happened happens at all, and what they’re leading in to, but according to Dreamworks, we have two more films left in this series, and more films with a Latin spin off that will likely continue the mythos well in to 2019. If possible.
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)
In the first “Paranormal Activity,” director Oren Peli seemed to have a one off horror movie in mind, but did allude to a lot of back story during the film. We do know from the first movie that Katie had been suffering from odd hauntings all her life, and had blocked out a lot of her childhood leaving the door open for the mysterious demon to enter in to the lives of she and her husband Micah. “Paranormal Activity 3” ventures even further back and widens the scope of the narrative to explore the deeper mythos behind the series of hauntings that took the lives of Katie and her husband.
This is 40 (2012)
For the majority of Judd Apatow’s film career, there seemed to have been a trend of movies about bromances and guys growing up thanks to gorgeous women in their lives. “This is 40” breaks that trend and seems more intent on two purposes: One it wants to desperately trot out Judd Apatow’s daughters as cute, witty, and irresistible to the point where casting agents will have to bring them on to their next movies, and two: to redeem the utterly despicable character Leslie Mann played in “Knocked Up.” Touted as a “sort of sequel to Knocked Up,” Judd Apatow sets his sights on the life of supporting characters Pete and Debbie to explore what they’re doing now that they’re turning forty and are still rather unlikable people.
On Top (2012)
Whomever cast actress Nikki Estridge for the role of escort Adrianna is a genius. “On Top” is a short film that’s reliant on casting the perfect woman for the role of the insatiable and professional escort who is wholly unapologetic in what they do. Star Nikki Estridge is excellent in her performance as professional freelance escort Adrianna who strives in pleasing her clients and loves what she does.
Sell Your Own Damn Movie! [Paperback]
It should serve as no surprise that since its initial release, “Sell Your Own Dan Movie!” has sold big with aspiring filmmakers across the country, and it should also serve as no surprise that “Sell Your Own Damn Movie!” is probably the best how to guide for indie filmmakers on how to get their completed films out there and consumed for mass audiences. Whether you love Troma to death or hate Lloyd Kaufman like date rape, there’s no denying that the man has amassed decades of experience in indie filmmaking and has built an encyclopedic knowledge on the do’s and don’t’s on selling your film and how to get certain audiences aware of your creative work.
Co-author Lloyd Kaufman has a lot of wonderful and genius advice for indie flmmakers on how to sell their movies and get them in to festivals, and he does so with a ingenuity and humor that’s admirable. True, the book is mainly a how to guide, but it’s also laugh out loud funny. The chapters are filled with addendums that will make you giggle more times than you can count, and often times co-author Sara Antill adds her own addendums to Kaufman’s own anecdotes or false information that will spark some real gut busters from the reader. The list of ways you can raise money for festival entry fees is probably the funniest part of the book. While Kaufman and Antill definitely have their fun and lighten the mood with their dry wit and sharp humor, the book doesn’t hold back with its facts and truths. Getting your film seen is tough, getting it out there is even worse. Odds are you won’t get a distribution deal, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try as hard as you can.
The "Holliston" Christmas Special
It’s free on Hulu and I don’t know a single person who has FEARNet. Just in case you were wondering why I watched this Christmas special in spite of the fact I’m not a humongous fan of the horror sitcom “Holliston.”
Now that that’s out of the way, in spite of my reservations with the series, “The Holliston Christmas Special” is a very solid and often entertaining affair. Granted, the humor is still somewhat hit or miss, but the hour long special that’s set during Christmas avoids all the pitfalls of the holiday special and works on its own track. Corrie and Laura are still really damn good looking, so much so it’s distracting, and they stop by Adam and Joe’s house to ring in the holidays with them. In spite of Adam’s refusal to celebrate since he’s Jewish, the girls inflict Christmas cheer on them with a Chinese dinner. When the lights go out all over Holliston the group has to huddle together to wait out the outage, and the cold.
Our Top Ten Spielberg Films Of All Time
It’s not a secret to many who visit Cinema Crazed, or to many who know us that Steven Spielberg is our favorite film director of all time. The man has managed to re-think the way we look at film and filmmaking, and is one of the few film directors living today who can deliver a good old fashioned story that can inspire and amaze without rotting our teeth with over simplistic and sugary storytelling. Sure, he’s faltered a few times, but even his weakest films are much better than anything most young directors can deliver in cinemas today. Steven Spielberg has managed to stay relevant in an ever growing populace of movie goers with incredibly short attention spans who want flash and explosions over genuine storytelling, and for any director that’s a feat and a half.
He helped invent the blockbuster, helped define franchising, helped engineer the special edition (for better or worse), and he’s carved an amazing career from films that have touched, awed, and invoked conversation about movie goers and film buffs alike. Fanatics, supporters, and often apologists, we’ve followed Spielberg for years as he’s been one of our earliest memories of film going ever. There aren’t many guarantees in life. But the one thing we think life can guarantee is that there will always be a movie to grant me the same awe and wonderment every single time we pop in a film from Steven Spielberg.
Whether it’s a tale about a lone tourist in an airport, or the plight of the Jews in World War II, Spielberg can and always has guaranteed that awe and sheer enthusiasm for film will come with a film from his. And they guarantee to outlive Steven Spielberg even at the age of 66. Spielberg may just be a man biding his time in delivering masterpiece after masterpiece, but his films will have a shelf life of many many decades and introduce young audiences to the awe and charm of filmmaking as Spielberg did for us. We celebrate Steven Spielberg’s 66th birthday with our top ten Spielberg Films of All Time. So far.