Matt Walker (fb1456806618)

Paranormal Activity R

I never intended to see 'Paranormal Activity,' but I suppose they hype took me over, and I had to see it.

Well, okay. I got a DVDrip of it off of uTorrent.

Let's start at the beginning. This movie is creepy. There are a few jumpy scares, but the scariness from this movie comes from it downright freaky and creepy nature. It's extremely believable because of the way it was filmed, and from the beginning to a little bit before the end, it was just... scary.

The acting was definitely nothing to write home about. Micah was more believable than Katie, but just because he was acting more like a dude - trying to be macho and at other times apathetic towards everything going on. Katie, a woman, trying to show emotion, came off a bit too hard at sometimes, and too light at others.

The music... well, there was no music. The sound design, though, was... sad to say, not impressive. It was scary at times, but then other times, it was cheesy. The 'demonic voice' was almost laughably corny. Other times, the bumps and scratches were scary.

The story was... interesting. The first hour was very good - scary, and you really would think that this was some documented footage. Then, towards the end, right around the time Katie was first yanked out of the bed, it began to get a bit... stupid? Dull? Very predictable.

SPOILER ALERT
****
You just knew that Katie was going to kill Micah. From the beginning you knew it was going to happen. Not surprising when, well, that's exactly what happened.

So, the version I downloa...I mean, 'bought... had the ending where Katie went downstairs, screamed, and Micah came to save her, then returned to the bedroom, and convulsed on the floor. I thought this was the original ending, and I thought it was okay. I went onto YouTube, and apparently, I saw the alternative ending.

I watched the 'theatrical ending,' and hated it sorely. It was cheesy, and downright awful. I'm glad I saw it with the alternative ending, even if it, itself, was a bit lackluster.

In fact, it was featured in the trailer on television. What th heck?
***
END OF SPOILERS

So, all in all, 'Paranormal Activity' is just another seat on the 'realistic horror mockumentary' bandwagon that began with 'The Blair Witch Project,' and was later expanded with 'Cloverfield,' and 'Quarantine.' To be honest, not as entertaining as any of those (Okay, it was better than 'Quarantine') but it was a solid movie that had it's moments.

I guess I can respect the filmmakers, though, for being very minimal, but making such an impacting movie. I mean, seriously, without paying the filmmakers/actors, this movie couldn't have cost more than a week's salary to make.

Will I be able to sleep well tonight? Probably not - it was pretty creepy throughout the middle, but the ending (both of them) were predictable disappointments.

Then again, these things usually are.

3/5

Saw VI R

"The game comes full circle..."

No it doesn't. I've been following the Saw series from the beginning. While they're not the most impressive films out there, they all are trying to tell one giant story full of twists and turns that you just kind of can't resist. Sure you have to sit through two hours of gore beforehand, but at least you get to see the next part of the story.

Saw VI, however, didn't progress the overall story at all. Sure, some things we thought were going to be big were revealed, but they actually turned out to be very minor things.

The acting is... well, horror movie acting. They scream a lot. That's about all I can say about that.

The music is still eerie and cool. I love the song that is in every 'Saw' movie - 'Hello Zepp' was what it was originally called, but now it has some cool violins and whatnot. Very cool.

Now... the blood and gore. There's actually less of it this time around, but when it's there... it's really there. No hiding it; this is a disgusting movie. I guess the filmmakers deserve some sort of merit for making it look... nastily realistic.

But, like I said earlier, the story is hardly progressed at all. It's sad, because I had (still have) some big predictions about the end of the series, which obviously hasn't come yet. I think they might have one more movie up their sleeves. Without revealing too much of VI, my predictions of VII have some old characters returning, and the game really WILL come full circle in #7.

There still is some sort of... positive?... elements to the Saw series. If you look past the decapitation, blood, guts, and screaming, there's a message of appreciation towards life, and 'take nothing for granted' sort of mentality. Towards the end, a message of forgiveness is presented, as a character must choose life of death for another character.

But then someone cuts their own arm off, and you forget about that philosophical stuff.

All in all, definitely watch this movie if you've been following 'Saw.' It you haven't, there's no way you could possibly enjoy this one. Start a #1 if you must, but these things must be seen in order if you are going to properly enjoy them.

Is 'enjoy' the right word? Hopefully not.

2.5/5

Stand by Me R

This is one of the best films ever. I can, literally, watch it over and over again and it never ceases to make me laugh, cry, gasp, and sigh. The perfect movie for me, and almost my absolute favorite.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas) PG-13

This was an absolute masterpiece. I have nothing more to say. I think that when we look back on innocence, we remember having it, loosing it, and realizing that we'll never get it back. Those movies always make me tear up.