The Strangers

Do you ever watch a 'scary' movie, and feel like you're sitting in a boring bath of blood? Are there too many sex scenes and lame plots? Do you ever wonder if there's a good movie in that genre that will actually scare you instead of disturbing you by putting blood and guts on display for 80-90 minutes? You should probably check out The Strangers.

The plot is simple enough. A young couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedsman, to be exact) stay the night at a vacation house out in the suburbs in who knows where. The night is a bit awkward (you will discover why later on throughout the movie), and then they start getting harassed by other people. People with masks. Could these people be drunk? Do they have a mental condition? Are they just young people trying to be funny or creep them out? What should they do?

In the field of scary movies, this one is a masterpiece. It starts out really slow, giving you plenty of time to wonder how the characters got there, what is going on between them, how far from home they are, do they love each other, do they hate each other, are they scared, are they oblivious... But all your questions get answered. It's similar to the show Lost, where the story weaves back and forth between different plots of the same continuum.

Also, The Strangers isn't really a scary movie. The 'scary movie' category has had its dignity recklessly plucked away by the kind of stories I mentioned before -- all blood and guts, all running from the bad guy, and what not. So I have decided that this one falls into the terror category. At the end of the movie, you don't have a headache or feel like you just wasted an hour and a half watching people get hunted down and slaughtered. This one will actually scare you.

"The Strangers"

Story: 9.3

Acting: 8

Cinematography: 7.5

Special Effects: 8

Conclusion: 8.2

I don't really have much else to say pertaining to my own personal grade. It's a rare and special movie in the terror category. And just for the record, I don't hunt down terrifying movies because this one was enough for me.

The Fringe: B

The Truman Show

Even if you are still living in the Matrix and find Jim Carrey incessantly annoying and can't enjoy his movies whatsoever, you can't deny that his select few serious roles break ground and strum chords in people's hearts.

Jim Carrey is Truman, a man who, unbeknownst to him, has lived his entire life within a staged and scripted TV show. Truman has never left the small town he grew up in, known as Seahaven. And besides, even if he wanted to, the small island, keeps him contained due to his fear of open water. In real life, Truman was an unwanted pregnancy. He was unwillingly and unknowingly adopted into his own made-up world, that he is the center of. His co-workers, everyone he sees at the store, even his wife and best friend, are only actors, making him believe that his life is worth living. Basically, Truman is living in the Matrix. But like the matrix, glitches can happen within it, and not everybody can stand living there forever... If they know the truth, that is.

The Truman Show is a very poignant, moving story about a man who sees what's really going on in his life, sees the lies the world is pumping into him, and wants the truth. As far as I can remember, the movie is one hundred percent family friendly, making the movie even more rare and special, seeing as it's Jim Carrey. The acting was not bad, as far as I could tell... Although it is somewhat difficult to critique all the actors acting within another role. Anyways, I loved The Truman Show, and I don't see any reason as to why you wouldn't as well!

"The Truman Show"

Story:9

Acting:8.5

Cinematography:8

Special Effects: normal...?

Conclusion: 8.5

As I mentioned before, The Truman Show is all about living in the Matrix, and wanting out. And of course, I see most any movie with something parallel to my life... Well, Truman was also living the most comfortable life possible, but when he found out it wasn't actually the real deal, when he found out how much possibility and opportunity the world really held, he was ready to give up any shred of comfort for the beauty of adventure, which is what every man really wants deep down.

The Fringe: B+

Kick-Ass

Quite possibly the most outrageous movie of the year, Kick-Ass is a roller coaster of action and violence, romance, and... Vigilantism?

Dave is a high schooler who hit rock bottom in his social scene, probably the most boring and nerdy guy you could meet. He and his friends would only go to the local comic store after school, and discuss this week's comics, characteristics of different super heroes, and complain about how Iron man should've built a stronger reactor to be able to defeat some foe, or how wolverine is a cocky idiot who lived to tell the tale. Dave would spend his whole life commiserating with his friends about how dead-end and useless their lives are.

But then, Dave decided to become a vigilante.

So what if he doesn't have super powers? Cops fight crime. They don't have an ounce of it! And so it begins. Dave sets out to catch the bad guys in the act with a crudely made and (to anyone else) embarrassing costume he purchased on ebay, only to have his balloon of self-esteem popped with a big knife. About the time he decides to give up, he learns of a much bigger battle to fight than petty crime. Big Daddy, a much superior vigilante, and his daughter, Hit-Girl, a 10-year-old Jason Bourne, want to bring mafia crime boss Frank D'Amico, along with his relentless reign of terror over the city, to a screeching stop. Dave, having absolutely no training in self-defense, or offense, of course wants to help! However, he is already number one on Frank's hit list. All the dead bad guys supposedly belong to Kick-Ass (Dave's vigilante name), when really, it's just that Big Daddy is too fast and covert to be seen on camera or by other people. But will Kick-Ass ever become a real crime-fighter, an actual threat to the foes he has avoided his whole life? Will he decide it is wrong and move to New Zealand, away from any trouble? Is this whole situation a fairly accurate analogy of human life? Maybe...

The movie starts out slow and really escalates, another element of danger, suspense, or humor after another, giving you much too think about. Kick-Ass has great special effects, it is cleverly written, and will keep you entertained for a couple of hours for sure!

"Kick-Ass"

Acting: 7

Story: 8

Cinematography: normal

Special effects: 7

Conclusion: 7.33

As for the impact the movie had on me... Well, apart from fantasizing all summer about becoming a vigilante, wondering the streets of Snohomish at night, stopping bad things from happening, I didn't like the movie nearly as much as I predicted I would. However, the movie is a somewhat accurate description of real life. Our country spends so much time complaining about how many terrible things happen, but rather than talking about it and making statistics and analyzing everything, let's pick up our act and fight a battle that has to be won. Obviously, I don't mean killing the bad guys, rather, fighting hate, depression, and anger with love, grace and compassion. So that part of it got me pretty excited, but other than that, the movie's unnecessarily sexual and filled with bad messages. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to a lot of people. Especially not you.

The Fringe: C

The Devil's Own

Co-stars Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt convey a gripping, poignant performance, combining the elements of sorrow, love, and adventure in The Devil's Own.

Frankie McGuire (Pitt), an Irish boy who watched his father shot to death before his own eyes, grows up to be a MAN (more specifically, Member of the Army of the North). He comes to a pretty close shave with the Britsh army, narrowly escaping. He immigrates to New York City using a fake passport and alias, and moves into the basement of Tom O'Meara (Ford), an NYPD officer. Frankie is positioned in America for only one reason: to supply his Irish friends with missiles. The task is evident in his mind, and nobody will distract him from what is coming. However, living in the O'Meara residence, he learns to love a little, to care about people, instead of banning together to hate. Will he really end up doing what he set out for, or will his heart change?

By the time we reached 1997, it was becoming difficult to push out movies about the I.R.A. without being too repetitive, or touching where others haven't. The Devil's Own didn't just document everything that happens in Ireland (which isn't a bad thing -- watch Michael Collins if you haven't already), it was more of a touching and inviting movie that I would love to watch again. It's refreshing to watch a movie containing no sex or positive message about drug use, and left you feeling different about your life. Two thumbs up, especially if you like Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford! They're a great combo.

"The Devil's Own"

Story: 8.3

Acting: 9

Cinematography: 7

Special Effects: NGF

Conclusion: 8.1

Besides being a fairly good movie critic-wise, I especially enjoyed it because it made me think about my own life, and really just life in general. No matter how much he tried justifying it with his mind and his words, Frankie knew all along that what he was living his life for was not good. The things he did were wrong. And the longer we ignore that conviction, the more of a wreck our lives become.

The Fringe: B

Halloween (1978)

Known as one of the most profitable independent films, John Carpenter went out on a limb and scored big with Halloween. But is it really worth seeing?

Halloween was, without a doubt, terrifying when it first came out. I mean, the whole point of the movie was to scare people senseless. I definitely found the originality of the movie very inspiring. For most of the time, I felt as though I were the killer. And then it makes you think, 'how would I handle this situation?' it sort of forces you to assume the bad guy's position sometimes. Well, I don't have a whole lot say about Halloween, but it was decent for a scary movie. And props for being so original (for its time)!

"Halloween"

Story: 6

Acting: 7

Special Effects: 7

Cinematography: 9

Conclusion: 7.25

The Fringe: C+

The Number 23

What could even come close to topping The Cable Guy for a Jim Carrey fan? Well, whoever would've thought he'd be in a serious role? The Number 23 can't really be compared to his comedic works, but if your audience feeds off of your spontaneous and eclectic behaviour, and you go out on a limb and star in a dark, violent drama, you better do a pretty good job. I'd say he pulled it off.

Walter Sparrow (Carrey) is living an ordinary, pleasing life. He has a wife, a son, and a job that isn't completely enjoyable, but it pays the bills. He is a decent father and husband. But then, a book enters his life that really shouldn't have... or is it better that it did? The book, by the same title of movie, begins to run Walter's life. 23 appears everywhere -- while he's driving, at work, at home, sleeping, etc... he starts going crazy.

I can't give away too much, but I'll tell you that there are some pretty messed up scenes... whoever filmed this movie is a pro, but also has to have a pretty twisted mind to come up with the plot and everything. The actors all portrayed their characters very well, if you ask me. While the movie is really good in all the ways a critic looks, it just isn't that well known, and it's really no mystery why -- it's just too dark and violent for a lot of people. Dark, violent, and crafted by some real professionals. I would say it's worth a shot if you're a Jim Carrey fan, and are mentally and emotionally prepared for something very shocking and out of the blue.

"The Number 23"

Acting: 8.8

Story: 9.2

Special Effects: 8.4

Cinematography: 9.3

Conclusion: 8.9

As I have mentioned in previous reviews, I do tend to like movies that are dark, and mess with your mind. Movies that make you think. The Number 23, unfortunately, just didn't quite cut it. For one, the movies I watch can sometimes contain a lot of violence, language, drug use, etc... But this one was just too much blood and sex to wade through. At the end, I felt the cost was too high for what I got out of the movie -- which was, no doubt a great message, but it wasn't worth getting to the end. I definitely am not scarred or too shocked, it's just not one I'd put on the netflix queue to watch again.

The Fringe: C+

Inception

It's been a long time since I saw a movie in the theater, and left feeling as though my life were changed, as though my mind was folded inside out, leaving me awestruck and joyfully alone in my little personal world on the rainy coast. To put it simply, it's been a long time since a movie as good as Inception has come out in the theater.

Only Christopher Nolan, who brought us some of my other favorite movies, like Momento, The Dark Knight and Batman Begins, could think up the plot for Inception. Set in present-day, it is possible to create the world in which you dream. In addition, you can enter the dreams of others... find out their secrets, their personal information. Dominic (Leonardo Dicaprio) is hired to perform Inception on Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), who's father controls an empire that will soon overpower and put out of business the man who has hired Dominic. And so it begins; the plan of a century. Dominic and his team must set the idea in Robert's mind to destroy his father's work. It must be his own idea because it is his own dream, you see.

Along the lines of The Matrix, this movie will blow your mind beyond belief and like me, you may even leave the theater with some teary eyes, contemplating whether or not you are living in reality or a dream as you walk to your car. But above a good plot, Inception has everything that makes a good movie. Employing a fast pace, character development, romance, and some of the most innovative special effects since Neo dodged bullets and that helicopter crashed into the face of a sixty-story-high building, it's nearly impossible to take your eyes off the screen.

"Inception"

Story: 9.9

Acting: 9.7

Special Effects: 9.5

Cinematography: 9.8

Conclusion: 9.73

Obviously, I really enjoyed this movie, however, remember that how much I enjoyed the movie personally does not affect the above grade. Read some critic reviews and I am sure you will find that they are saying the same things.

The Fringe: A+