Scream 4 (2011)

New decade, new rules.

Directed by Wes Craven

Written by Kevin Williamson

Starring Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panatierre, Rory Culkin, Nico Tortorella, Marley Shelton, Adam Brody, Anthony Anderson, Mary McDonnell

11 years after the events of Scream 3, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) returns to her hometown of Woodsboro. There, she reunites with old friends Dewey (Arquette) and Gale (Cox). Her arrival also coincides with the return of a certain Ghostfaced killer.

This has to be the most fun I've had in the theatre all year. I saw it in a theatre packed with die hard Scream fans who have been chomping at the bit for a new installment for the past 10 years. Not unlike myself. Scream 3 was both the first horror, and first R rated movie I'd seen in the theatre. The story was excellent. I loved seeing how these characters that I'd practically grown up with in the first 3 movies had grown in the past decade, and once it got scary, I was on the edge of my seat until the ending credits rolled.

And unless you've been tipped off, you will NEVER guess the identity of Ghostface. My mom, uncle and I were each whispering our guesses to each other, and once that mask came off, you could hear our jaws drop. Best reveal in the whole series.

9/10

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language, and some teen drinking.

Note to parents: There is a LOT of greusome violence in this movie. Two characters are practically gutted. Stab wounds are shown in their full bloody glory, and the whole movie is just intense. Language is frequent, considering the F bomb is Courteney Cox's favorite word in this one. I'd say it's safe for those over 17.

Not on DVD yet, but should be by August.

Black Swan (2010

Embrace your dark side.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Written by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, and John J. McLaughlin

Starring: Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winnona Ryder

Nina's (Portman) life is consumed by ballet. Her mother (Hershey) is a former ballerina who wants to live her life through her daughter on stage. When her company's director Tomas (Cassel) casts Nina over veteran ballerina Beth (Ryder), and brings in new dancer Lilly (Kunis), Nina finds her life, and sanity unravel as she embraces both the angelic role of the White Swan, and the devilish role of the Black Swan.

This is one of the best movies I've seen all year. Natalie Portman loses herself in her role. The script is both beautiful and disturbing at the same time, and Aronofsky presents everything on screen with an artful eye. Everybody in the film played their parts awesomely. I sat down wanting to see Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis together in a movie, but honestly, I couldn't see the actors. Only their characters. This is one of the best psycho-sexual thrillers to come about since Fatal Attraction or Basic Instinct, and one I will soon never forget.

10/10

Rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use.

No, this is NOT for children. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 18. The violence, when presented is gruesome and graphic. (In one scene a woman stabs herself repeatedly in the face with a nail file.) The sex is also up front and graphic. Especially an extended scene where 2 women make love. No nudity is involved, but you can see all that they do to each other. There is also quite a bit of foul language, and a scene involving drug use. 18+

The DVD contains a 4 part making of featurette and previews of other Fox releases. The Blu Ray (Which I hope to own one day) contains the making of and other featurettes about the costuming and interviews with the stars.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

Never sleep again...

Directed by Samuel bayer

Written by Wesley Strick and Eric Heisserer

Starring Jackie Earle Haley, Rooney Mara, Kyle Gallner, Katie Cassidy, Thomas Dekkar, Kellan Lutz, Connie Britton, Clancy Brown

Nancy (Mara) and her friends Kris (Cassidy), Dean (Lutz), Jesse (Dekkar), and Quintin (Gallner) have been having bad dreams lately. Dreams of a disfgured man named Freddy Kreuger (Haley). In these dreams, if Freddy kills them, they die for real.

This was one of the better horror movie remakes. Jackie Earle Haley is an awesome successor to Robert Englund. While being terrifyingly scary, he can also crack a killer joke. His appearance was greusome, and quite scary, right down to the dirty sweater and the dingy fedora. My main reason for wanting to go was Katie Cassidy. I've loved her since her Supernatural days, and have enjoyed her performance on Melrose Place. In this, she was given the role of the typical blonde girl with a great body, but does so much more with it. Katie gives us a sympathetic character to whom you don't want anything to happen. Her screentime was cut way short. I would've loved to have seen a whole movie featuring her character.

This was so worth the price of the ticket. I just might go again, if time and money permits.

9/10

Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, disturbing images, terror and language.

The film contains quite strong graphic violence. Characters are slashed and stabbed repeatedly. Not overly gory, but quite bloody. Nearly everytime Freddy appears onscreen, it is in a jump scare fashion. Tension is sometimes strong. While there is no explicit sex, there are impications that a couple have slept together. Characters drink red bull, take ritalin, and steal adrenaline shots from the hospital to stay awake. There is also frequent strong language from nearly every character. 17+

The DVD should be out around July or August if you prefer to wait.

Homecoming (2009)

A girl never forgets her first love...

Directed by: Morgan J. Freeman

Written by: Katie L. Fetting

Starring: Mischa Barton, Matt Long, Jessica Stroup, Michael Landes

Shelby (Barton) and Mike (Long) were the high school golden couple. When he dumps her to go off to college, she is so devistated that she thinks the relationship is still going on. When he brings his new girlfriend Elizabeth (Stroup) to the high school's homecoming game, Shelby devises a plan to get rid of her so she can have Mike all to herself.

This was a pretty fun little thriller. Mischa Barton (Whom I've crushed on since her Marissa Cooper days) is sublimely over the top in her role as the Kathy Bates like villian, taking sadistic glee in torturing Jessica Stroup in greusome ways. I'm drawing comparisons from the film Misery because the film is basically that one with a younger cast. Where Annie Wilkes had a sledgehammer and needle, Shelby has a syrup bottle and garden clippers. If you're a fan of the crazy bitch" genre (Fatal Attraction, Swimfan, Obsessed), then you'll love this one.

8/10

Rated R for some violence and language.

This film contains some quite graphic violence. Some of this is obscured, but there are 2 particularly greusome scenes that show the violence in full vivid light and color. One involves my biggest ick, the ankle twisting. Language is quite frequent. About 20 or so F words and numerous other swears. Shelby tries to seduce Mike by wearing nothing but a jacket and skimpy underwear. 16+

The DVD includes some deleted scenes and trailers.

Identity (2003)

Identity is a mystery. Identity is a secret. Identity is a killer.

Directed by James Mangold

Written by: Michael Cooney

Starring: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall, Jake Busey, Rebecca DeMornay

On a stretch of desert road, there is a motel. This motel becomes the meeting point for 10 strangers stranded by a rainstorm. Ed (Cusack) is a limo driver, escourting the diva TV star Caroline (DeMornay). Paris (Peet) is a prostitute running away from her former life. Rhodes (Liotta) is a cop escourting a convicted killer (Busey) to prison. They and 5 others seek shelter from the storm as one by one, they start to be mysterously, and brutally murdered.

This is one of my favorite murder mysteries. I fell in love with it in my senior year of high school and a friend of mine showed it to me. But I noticed something odd. During the final 15 minutes, he kept watching me instead of the movie. He said that he wanted to see my reaction to the twist. Now whenever I show it to them, I do the same. This is one of those OMFG, that did not just happen movies, where you will never guess the next thing that is going to happen.

I also found that even knowing what happens, the film holds up to repeat viewings. I've seen it about 7 times now, and each time, it gets a better. Everybody in it is perfectly cast. Even Amanda Peet. This is one of the few times I've enjoyed her in a film. Rebecca DeMornay is perfect in her role as a bitchy, has-been Diva who still thinks her 15 minutes haven't ended. And Clea DuVall, one of my favorite actresses, while tragically given little to do but cry and scream, still shines. Although that opinion is based on the fact that I'd watch her read a phone book for 2 hours.

If on a rainy day, you're looking for a good thriller with a great story, you should check this out.

9/10

Rated R for strong violence and language.

The film goes the Se7en route of violence. It doesn't show many of the murders themselves, but rather the aftermath. There is quite a bit of blood. And it contains frequent strong language. 15+

The DVD includes a lot of features, including making of documentaries, deleted scenes, and an extended version with 1 minute of extra footage that adds a bit to the story.

The Fourth Kind (2009)

In the end, what you believe is yours to decide.

Written and Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Will Patton, and Elias Koteas

A dramatization of events in Nome, Alaska taking place between October 1st and 9th of 2000, focusing on Dr. Abbey Tyler (Jovovich), a psychologist who believes the town's high rate of missing persons is due to alien abductions.

This film had a pretty cool way to tell the story. Instead of a straightforward dramitzation, it's actually filmed footage of Jovovich and the other actors alonside the "real" footage of the "real" people involved. The reason I put "real" in quotation marks is because Universal Pictures has come out and said outright that the movie is fiction. Simple research can prove that it was all made up, but you forget about that once you really get sucked up into the movie.

Most of what is displayed is very disturbing. There are some scenes that I had to look away from and fast forward through because they were too scary. Trust me, this one will be in my DVD collection.

7/10

Rated PG-13 for violent/disturbing images, some terror, thematic elements and brief sexuality.

Despite the PG-13 rating, I wouldn't recommend this to anybody under 16. It is very scary, and will most likely result in nightmares.

The only feature on the DVD is deleted scenes and trailers for Smokin' Aces 2 and Pirate Radio.