Goosebumps

Source

Goosebumps was a big part of my childhood, both the books and the television show. Naturally, I was interested in seeing this movie. The final result was a pretty enjoyable Halloween guilty pleasure. It has several fun elements to it, especially Jack Black who plays three characters, each fairly fun and memorable. R.L. Stine is an uptight stick-in-the-mud, very different from the lovable loser Jack Black is known for playing. The Invisible Boy wasn't much more than a throw-away part with Black's voice. But, the absolute scene stealer is Jack Black's portrayal of Slappy the Dummy. The three main teenagers are pretty good in the movie, and the actors have decent chemistry together. On the more negative side of things, the effects can be hit-and-miss. Slappy looks fantastic, and the effects on a specific character that I won't give away are pretty solid too. The lawn gnomes look pretty good too. On the flip side, characters like the Werewolf of Fever Swamp and the Abominable Snowman of Pasadena look downright terrible. Some of the twists are pretty predictable, and can be seen coming from a mile away. Ken Marino plays the gym teacher at the high school. He is a pretty funny actor, but I don't think he was utilized to his full potential. The final twist ending was pretty bad in my opinion, and puts small holes in the plot. As much as I may have torn this movie apart, I do enjoy it. Not everything works. It definitely has its flaws, but it's like a fun family Halloween guilty pleasure movie, similar to The Monster Squad or Hocus Pocus.

6 / 10   

Top 10 Horror Movie Villains

Honorable Mentions:

Chucky - Child's Play, Candyman - Candyman, Jason Voorhees - Friday the 13th, Leatherface - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Death - Final Destination, Stripe - Gremlins, Pinhead - Hellraiser  

#10: Jack Torrance - The Shining: Jack Torrance's slow descent into madness is still really well-handled by master of direction Stanley Kubrick. One of the best elements of this movie is the idea that Jack Torrance is a just a regular guy who is driven insane by the Overlook hotel, and attempting to kill his family.

#9: The Shark - Jaws: The shark from Jaws does need to be mentioned because it is an animal. This creature bases its villainous activities on how hungry it is, and picking off the people of Amity Island in New York. There's a reason some people are scared to go in the ocean, and it's this shark. In fact, I might just be talking about the shark again in a series I'm planning to do eventually.

#8: Damien - The Omen: Damien is a pretty scary horror movie baddie for a very specific reason. If you take one look at him, he looks adorable and innocent. There's just one catch. He's the spawn of Satan, destined to bring about the end of the world, and this is a movie where evil triumphs.

#7: Samara - The Ring: Samara actually does frighten me a little bit. I am a huge movie fanatic. So, the idea of a little girl that crawls out of a T.V. to kill you seven days after watching a specific video tape does frighten me. Granted, I can't put her any higher because she probably would've scared me a lot more had I actually seen The Ring on VHS.

#6: Sam - Trick 'r Treat: There's not a whole lot to really say about Sam. He is a trick-or-treater that kills the people who don't observe the rules of Halloween. Best yet, his murder weapon of choice is a lollipop.

#5: Norman Bates - Psycho: What really makes Norman Bates a compelling horror movie villain (and as frightening as he is) is that, for most of the most movie, you never really know what he is. Is he the tragic hero, the terrifying monster, or is he a little bit of both?

#4: Jigsaw - Saw: Jigsaw is actually one of the most complex horror movie villains to come out of the past decade. He is very much seen as the villain of the series, but he also has the mannerisms you probably find in your typical anti-hero. He's offering his victims a choice, live or die, and he does all of it without ever laying a hand on his victims.

#3: Hannibal Lecter - The Hannibal Lecter franchise - There is a large possibility that Hannibal Lecter could be a real person. You actually could find this cannibal waiting for you in a dark alley. One of the horrifying things about him is how calm he is when he eats his victims, and how nonchalant he is about the idea of killing his victims.

#2: Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare on Elm Street: Freddy had to be as high on the list as he is for a simple reason. He attacks you in your dreams, the one place you can't really escape from, because you have no control over your subconscious. What's even more frightening is just how much despicable glee he takes in killing his victims

#1: Michael Myers - Halloween: For the longest time, Michael has been my personal favorite horror movie maniac. He doesn't speak. He feels nothing towards his victims, and for all intents and purposes, he is dead inside. The bleached Shatner mask really sells that because of the dark black holes in his eye-sockets. This works because the eyes are considered the windows to the soul. Staring into those blank, dead eyes show that he is truly soulless.

Were there any I missed? Any I should have left off? Let me know

Top 10 Halloween Guilty Pleasures

I wanted to do this since it's October and Halloween is right around the corner.

Before I really dig into my top 10, here are some honorable mentions. These are a few movies that I guiltily enjoy, but they just didn't quite make the cut.

Idle Hands, Leprechaun 4: In Space, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Hocus Pocus, Planet Terror, Doom, the Resident Evil movies, the Final Destination movies, the Goosebumps tv series

#10: Deep Blue Sea: Deep Blue Sea is about a team of scientific researchers (plus a professional shark hunter, a cook, and Samuel L. Jackson) who get stranded in an underwater lab along with some genetically modified man-eating sharks. Is it stupid? Yes. Do I love it? Hells Yes!

#9: The Wicker Man: I've already posted a review on this movie, so I won't go to into detail. However, it should be said, that you are definitely going to have a huge amount of fun with this movie if you watch it on Halloween with some friends because it is unintentionally hilarious.

#8: The Monster Squad: The Monster Squad is, more or less, on this list because it is a total product of its time. The best way I can describe this movie is that it's what would happen if the goonies fought the Universal Movie Monsters. I think it might objectively be the best movie on the list, but still easily deserves a spot on the list.

#7: The Happening: The Happening is very similar to The Wicker Man. It's just a great unintentional comedy to watch and tear apart with some friends during the Halloween season. It kind of helps when you realize that the big baddies are the trees. It's an incredibly stupid movie, but it's so worth the watch.

#6: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Buffy movie absolutely pales in comparison to the much better, darker TV series. The movie isn't without its moments, however. Paul Reubens steals the whole thing, but I also did like Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry. It's campy and cheesy, but that is where a lot of the fun lies in the movie.

#5: Sleepy Hollow: Sleepy Hollow is another movie that could be argued as to whether or not it deserves to be on this list. In the end, there is one thing that secures its guilty pleasure status. Christopher Walken. The man is in the movie for a grand total of about five minutes, and is easily the most memorable thing about the movie.

#4: Freddy's Dead: Objectively, Freddy's Dead is possibly the weakest of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies (I personally like the second one the least, though). Freddy does have some pretty strong kills in what is a mostly stupid movie that I feel equally deserves all of the love and hate it gets from fans.

#3: Army of Darkness: By today's standards, Army of Darkness is definitely dated, and honestly holds up the least out of the Evil Dead franchise. But, I'd be lying if I said this movie wasn't an absolute ball. Its effects aren't the best, and the tone can be inconsistent. All of the flaws are eclipsed by the memorable dialogue, and the ever-present charisma of Bruce Campbell.

#2: Bride of Chucky: I completely understand why there are so many people out there who don't like this movie, especially with what comes next. For me, as stupid as this movie is, there is plenty that it does well for me. First, this movie is the reason I heard Rob Zombie's Living Dead Girl (a personal favorite). Second, and most importantly, I was able to tolerate Katherine Heigl, which isn't very easy.

#1: Jason X: What else can I say, but Jason Voorhees IN SPACE!!!!!!!! 

Agree? Disagree? Were there any I missed? Any recommendations? Let me know.

Memento (2000)

Image Source

Memento is probably one of the most uniquely-filmed movies ever made (and that I have ever seen). This is the movie that really launched Christopher Nolan onto screen in a very big way. I really have to admire the use of storytelling that Christopher and Johnathon Nolan used to get the point across. There are two portions of the film. The smaller black and white portion plays out in chronological order, while the larger colored portion plays out in reverse. For those who have seen the movie and don't know the story, Memento is about a man who is unable to create short-term memories that is searching for his wife's killer, while you never really know what the main character's level of reliability really is. As far as I'm concerned, the character of Leonard Shelby remains Guy Pearce's best performance. The supporting cast includes Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Ann Moss, and they do a great job. However, I do feel this is Guy Pearce's movie. The man steals the show. The movie's ending is, in my opinion, one of the absolute best I have ever seen. I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it. This movie definitely gets a recommendation from me, and it is one of my absolute favorites.

10 / 10 

Back to the Future Part II (1989)

Source

I figured it was time to review this movie since yesterday was October 21st, 2015 (Back to the Future Day). The funny thing is, there were so many things that the predicted future got wrong (flying cars and hover boards anyone?) When I think about it, though, I realized that the movie somehow did manage to correctly predict the large amount of 3D sequels that are now released on a yearly basis. The movie does have an interesting-looking future, even if it doesn't look this way in 2015 in real life. Once again, the chemistry between Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown is damn flawless. The cliffhanger at the end of the movie actually does work, especially when you watch it as a companion piece with the third movie. There are only a couple real flaws I feel this movie has working against it. The first is how big it feels compared to the other two movies. There is a lit going on in terms of the time-travel. I don't necessarily think the time travel stuff is bad, but it does stray at times. The only other problem I have is the new actor playing Marty's father George McFly. He isn't bad or anything, he just doesn't have the memorability and screen presence that Crispin Glover had in the first film. Those couple little nitpicks aside, I do think Back to the Future Part II is a solid flick, and absolutely worth watching. I do have to admit it is a bit sad realizing that the entire franchise officially takes place in the past now.

8 / 10   

The Martian

Image Source

The Martian stars Matt Damon as an astronaut who is left behind on Mars by his crew after he seemingly dies in an accident caused by a storm on the planet's surface. In my opinion, this is the best film Ridley Scott has made since, probably, American Gangster. The movie has an awesome supporting cast, that includes Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino), and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie really is anchored by Matt Damon's incredible lead performance. Something I didn't really expect was how funny the movie was. I mean that in a good way too, you laugh at Matt Damon's sarcastic, deadpan delivery because you're supposed to. Ridley Scott's direction really works, and the script is incredibly tight. At points the movie does drag on a little, and some things probably could've been whittled down a touch. The plus side to this is that it never got to the point I lost interest. I would say the last five minutes could've easily been cut out. The whole movie kept me interested in what was going on, and I liked the talks of how these scientists were coming up with plans to save the main character. I also liked the explanations the main character gives for how he can survive, and how he goes about surviving for as long as he possibly can. Despite a couple minor issues I had with the movie, I really liked it, and I would definitely recommend The Martian to anybody who may be interested.

9 / 10     

You're Next (2011)

Image Source

You’re Next was a movie I genuinely liked. It harkened back to the slasher flicks of the 70s and 80s, while also doing what The Purge tried and failed to do, that being create a fun, frightening home invasion movie. The main protagonist is one of the most likable in recent years. The gore factor was highly elevated, and handled really well. The isolated location looked great, and there were some pretty cool twists and turns offered throughout the movie. The opening scene doesn’t mess around. It shows you exactly what you’re in for. That should please hardcore slasher fans. The characters really don’t fall into your typical slasher flick categories. There isn’t really a virgin, or a jock, or stoner. Changing the character dynamic isn’t generally something studios play around with, and that ultimately helps this movie. All that said, that doesn’t necessarily free the movie of it’s problems. The film isn’t especially well acted, save for Sharni Vinson. The performances don’t really make you care for any of the characters within the movie. Sharni Vinson, the movie’s leading lady, is actually really good. It’s a big plus when the main character (and main star) really can carry a movie. It’s nice to get a brutal, fun ride that’s perfect for Halloween, especially in an era where straightforward slasher flicks are dominated by torture porn. 

9 / 10