Psycho (1960)

Starring Janet Leigh, Anthony Perkins, and John Gavin

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Release Date: June 16, 1960

A window into a man's soul and a frightening glimpse of madness: truly Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a masterpiece of not only horror, but film-making itself. Nothing more needs to be said, it is a champion of superb film making, acting, and visual storytelling. If I were to elaborate further, it would give away the chilling story of Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) and her encouter at the myserious Bates Motel run by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).

.....And yes, Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot 1998 remake starring Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn as Marion and Norman can suck it. Hard. You don't steal from the original source, you try to make the remake its own story. That is why Gus Van Sant was an idiot and Alfred Hitchcock is still proclaimed a visionary.

Rating: * * * * * of 5

Click here to buy Psycho (Collector's Edition) Psycho (50th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray]

The Return of The Living Dead

Starring Clu Gulager,James Karen,Don Calfa,Beverly Randolph,John Philbin,and Linnea Quigley.

Directed by Dan O'Bannon

Release Date January 1st, 1985

After the success of Night of the Living Dead, the partnership between Dan O'Bannon and George A. Romero dissolved and the two zombie pioneers went their separate ways. While Romero went on to use "Of The Dead" in his titles and become a legend of horror cinema, Dan O' Bannon used "Of the Living Dead" and his name is not as well known as his former partner. In 1985, O' Bannon wrote the screenplay and directed "The Return of the Living Dead" a gore-fillled, punk infused 1980s follow-up to "Night Of the Living Dead"; the film is even referenced by the characters that the film was based on real events that were covered up by the U.S. Army.

Does the film hold up well in comparison with George A. Romero's? To be honest, "The Return of the Living Dead" is very outdated and has the look and feel of a 1980s horror movie (like the synthasizer musical score or one character lugging around a boom-box). The film is very toungue-in-cheek, filled to the brim with great special effects and some awesome looking zombies, including the infamous "Tar Zombie". However, the film is very cartoonish and is a standard "run/chase/flee" zombie movie that has no time or patience to develop a theme or any deeper meaning than human brains taste awesome to zombies. If you're a devoted zombie fan (like myself), it's definitely worth a look. If you've never heard of "Night Of the Living Dead" before, this may not be for you.

Rating: * * * * of 5

Click here to buy Return of the Living Dead (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging)

Flash Gordon (1980)

Starring Sam J. Jones, Max Von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, and Topol

Directed by Mike Hodges

Release Date December 5th, 1980

I'll admit, I have some eclectic tastes when it comes to movies: one of my favorite science fiction films is Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville. But, I'm still not sure what to say about the 1980 action-adventure film, "Flash Gordon". The movie certaintly has a great visual style to it, but the throwback to the 1940s film serials are a tad too distracting at times. Sure, it's neat to see 1930-1940s intrepretations of spaceships and intergalatic warlords, but after awhile it looks too cheesy. Unfortunately, that's not the least of this movie's problems. No, the real problems stem from the cliched, horrible dialogue and awful (repeat: AWFUL) performances from the majority of the cast (the only exceptions are Timothy Dalton and Brian Blessed, two actors who look like they were having fun with the material and didn't take it too seriously). If you're curious about seeing the film, I'd say go seek it out. Otherwise, I'd just say listen to the FANTASTIC album Queen put out for this film, particularly "flash's theme".

Rating: * * * of 5

Click here to buy Flash Gordon (Saviour Of The Universe Edition) Flash Gordon [Blu-ray]

Sabrina (1954)

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, and William Holden

Directed by Billy Wilder

Release Date: September 9, 1954

A young girl returns home after seeing the world and enriching herself. Soon, she is fancied by David Larraby, a charming playboy whom the young girl had a crush on for many years. Seeing that his brother's infatuation will ruin a multi-million dollar deal, Linus Larraby concocts a scheme to woo Sabrina into returning back to Paris without tarnishing the reputation of the rich and powerful Larrabies.
Forget the 1993 remake starring Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear, this is the only version of Sabrina worth mentioning and praising. All the cast is fantastic, from Bogart to Hepburn to Holden. The writing is great and the movie is just solid on all levels.

Rating: * * * * * of 5

Click here to buy Sabrina - The Centennial Collection

The Dark Knight

Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman , Morgan Freeman , Monique Curnen , Ron Dean , Cillian Murphy , Chin Han , Nestor Carbonell , Eric Roberts , Ritchie Coster , Anthony Michael Hall , Colin McFarlane , Joshua Harto , Melinda McGraw , Nathan Gamble , Michael Vieau , Michael Stoyanov , Bill Smille , Michael Jai White , Matthew O'Neill , William Fichtner , Olumiji Olawumi , Greg Beam , Erik Hellman , Beatrice Rosen , Vincenzo Nicoli , Edison Chen , Nydia Rodriguez Terracina , Andy Luther , James Farruggio , Thomas McElroy , Will Zahrn , James Fierro , Sam Derence , Jennifer Knox , Patrick Clear , Sarah Jayne Dunn , Chucky Venn , Winston Ellis , David Dastmalchian , Sophia Hinshelwood , Keith Kupferer , Joseph Luis Caballero , Richard Dillane , Daryl Satcher , Crhis Perschler , Aidan Feore , Philip Bulcock , Paul Birchard , Walter Lewis , Vincent Riotta , Nancy Crane , K. Todd Freeman , Matt Shallenberger , Michael Andrew Gorman , Lanny Lutz , Peter DeFaria , Matt Rippy , Andrew Bicknell , Ariyon Bakare , Doug Ballard , Helene Wilson , Tommy Campbell , Craig Heaney , Lorna Gayle , Joshua Rollins , Dale RIvera , Matthew Leitch , Tommy 'Tiny' Lister , Thomas Gaitsch , William Armstrong , Adam Kalesperis , Tristan Tait , Bronson Webb , Gertrude Kyles , Jonathan Ryland , James Scales , Nigel Carrington , Ian Pirie , Lateef Lovejoy , Grahame Edwards , Roger Monk , Ronan Summers , Wai Wong , Michael Corey Foster , Hannah Gunn , Brandon Lambdin

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Release Date: July 18, 2008

Oh my GOD, was this FREAKING AMAZING. Finally the perfect BATMAN movie that the fans, the audience, the critics, the entire world was waiting for. First off, is Heath Ledger as good as the critics say he is? The Answer is................GOOD GOD YES! Ledger steals this movie and runs all the way home with it, he's so good. His performance is so multi-layered, that it will be studied by drama students and film classes for years to come. The Joker is not only amusing, he is TERRIFYING: all eyes are on him and the hairs on your arms stand up in fear. This is a great performance, and it is a fitting tribute to his final completed performance (God Bless to him, we need more great actors like him in this world).

As much as Ledger will be getting much acclaim, the new comers to the cast will be cast in his shadow: which is a shame because they too give great performances. Aaron eckhart gives a strong performance as Harvey Dent, a man who is constantly struggling with his inner morality against his darker side. Also, Maggie Gyllenhall replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Bruce's childhood friend and Harvey's girlfriend. Gyllenhall makes her role work as she tugs at the heart strings while she emotionally struggles between living a happy life with Harvey and trying to get Bruce to look for other places to find personal happiness when it's time to retire The batman.

The story is great: The Joker terrorizes Gotham City by creating chaos amongst all its citizens, from the criminals to Batman himself. his scheme is so brilliant in its simplicity; no villain will ever achieve so much with so little effort. And for the first time, the Batman actually solves crimes as a detective, using his brain to hunt down criminals in addition to using his incredible technological arsenal. The fight scenes? are both inventive and entertaining. the camera moves rapidly as if trying to catch up with its actors, keeping the audience even mored thrilled. So, you're asking yourself? what's the down side? unless you're impatient and can't watch a movie that's longer than 90 minutes, nothing. I loved the hell out of this movie. Finally, there were two great quotes: Joker's "Wanna see a magic trick? I can make this pencil disappear?" and Gordon's final speech.

Rating: * * * * * of 5

Click here to buy
The Dark Knight (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)

The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition)

The Dark Knight LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY Two-Disc Special Edition with Exclusive Batman Mask Packaging plus Exclusive 40 Minute Featurette

The Dark Knight (+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]

Pan's Labrynth

El laberinto del fauno (original title)

Starring Ivana Baquero,Doug Jones,Sergi López,Maribel Verdú, and Ariadna Gil

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro

Release Date: December 29, 2006

An amazingly gothic story tale told by Guillermo del Toro. It tells the tale of a little girl, brought to meet her cruel stepfather while he fights rebels and her mother is in labor with her brother. The creatures in this movie are hauntingly beautiful, especially Pan and The Pale man. You will love this if you're a fan of spectacular art on film and beautiful story-telling.

Rating: * * * * * of 5

Let the right one in

Låt den rätte komma in (original title)

Starring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlberg , Ika Nord , Mikael Rahm , Karl-Robert Lindgren , Anders T. Peedu , Pale Olofsson , Cayetano Ruiz , Patrik Rydmark , Johan Somnes , Mikael Erhardsson , Rasmus Luthander , Soren Kallstigen , Malin Cederbladh , Bernt Ostman , Kajsa Linderholm , Adam Stone , Ingemar Raukola , Karl Robert Lindgren

Directed by Tomas Alfredson

Release Date:

Norway October 24,2008

Sweden October 24,2008

USA October 24,2008 (limited)


For all the praise Twilight gets from young girls, Let the Right one in is for all those who opposing them. A somber love story between an emotionally scarred and lonely young boy named Oskar and a strange little girl named Eli. Be warned: this is not a fast-paced, gore fest vampire movie; it is more akin to Dracula or Interview with the Vampire. I particularly enjoyed how the director made both Oskar and Eli connect by setting them against the vast snow-scape and make each character a little socially awkward: Oskar has no friends at school and is withdrawn even at home while Eli only appears at night and has a dark connection to a series of murders' in Oskar's neighborhood. This is a great foreign film that combines suspense, horror, and a sweet childhood romance into one story. The Vampire fan in me loves how Eli's attacks are not tame and controlled but more akin to an animal feeding on its' prey.

(From Original Post: 2008) On a disappointed note, Let the Right one in will be remade in the US and will most likely retool the entire story into a more marketable film for general audiences (i.e. set the story in modern times instead of 1982, relocate Sweden to New York, age the main characters into teenagers, and 90% product placement). Do yourself a favor by watching this film before seeing the remake. In short, this is a great film with the right amount of horror, romance, and drama.

Rating: * * * * 1/2 of 5