V/H/S

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 31 Aug 2012 (Straight to Video)
Running Time: 116 Minutes
Staring:  Calvin Reeder, Lane Hughes, Adam Wingard
Rating? R
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 5.8 of 10
MY RATING: 7 of 10

STORYLINE
When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS Tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.

MY REVIEW:
There is no in-between for this movie. You will either find it interesting and delightful or a sack of crap.

I was reluctant to watch but decided to go ahead. First of all, it was not the typical movie that you come across. It was new and interesting. Odd maybe. But it works.  It definitely feels that it doesn't have a storyline or a plot, but it seems to work in this case. A bit too much shaky cam for me, but I have never been a big fan.

It was different and enjoyable and unique.

The Awakening

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: USA- 17 Aug 2012
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Staring:  Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton..
Rating? R
SPOILERS? YES

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.5 of 10
MY RATING: 7 of 10

STORYLINE
In 1921, England is overwhelmed bu the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.

MY REVIEW:
A horror story this is not. Thriller, yes. Creepy and flawed ghost story, yes.

It's fairly original for an old ghost story. I like the settings and the traditional feel. It's effective in its use of creaking doors and mysterious sounds as well as the use of light and darkness to set the scene in this gloomy English countryside mansion. Most of the plot twists were a little obvious to me, the fanatic horror movie watcher.

What sold me on this movie was the use of traditional scares and very little reliance on special effects. This is a good old English film with a good old English cast that gives insight to the frailty of fear and makes up for the few flaws with character development and understated tension.

What I did not find effective was the underdevelopment of  the finale. Could have used some good old-fashioned thriller magic.
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Total Recall

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 3 Aug 2012
Running Time: 118 Minutes
Staring:  Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, Kate Bekinsale, Jessica Biel
Rating? PG-13
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 6.3 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 30% Audience: 47%
MY RATING: 5 of 10

MY REVIEW:
I am not a huge fan of remakes and in general feel that if the original wasn't broken, there is no need to mess with it! I think this was a pretty decent case of exactly that!

We get some of the same ideas from the original Total Recall from 1990, but the pieces that were the integral portions were missing for me. Mars? Where is the idea of Mars? No Doug Quaid played by Collin Farrell saying "Get your ass to Mars." No three booked aliens in the mutant sector? No mutants in general.

So, the earth is decimated and Douglas Quaid can't get the idea of his adventurous dreams out of his head. He gets his ass to Recall where they implant vacations. Same plat as before. Lori Quaid was Sharon Stone and is now Kate Beckinsale. I was saddened to have Melina not the leader of the mutant rebellion, but not to see Jessica Biel.

The missing pieces of the original plot to free Mars creates some very unwatchable edits. I was missing a big reason for me to care about the rest of the people. I miss the original. This was good. Not great, but good.