The Damned--8 out of 10 stars

We watched a marathon of horror movies on Thanksgiving Day. What? What do you mean that's not normal? Well, I'm not a huge football fan, and my husband was still too sick to argue. It's not like he actually stayed awake through most of them anyway...

Which brings us to The Damned. It was the first in the line up and luckily, was available on Netflix streaming. I love me some free movies. I'd read about it on someone some where's list of the year's best horror. And they weren't far off.

Synopsis: After a family is involved in an accident, they take refuge in a secluded inn where they free a girl locked in a basement without knowing she's an ancient evil spirit.

Some of it is spoken in Spanish so there are a few subtitles, but not enough to really bother you. And in one instance the characters were hollering, "hola," when they were supposed to be shouting, "ayuda." ("Hello" versus "Help") I'm not sure why they messed that up, but if you don't speak even rudimentary spanish you wouldn't notice anyway.

The plot is actually decent, with no visible holes or missing pieces. It makes sense (which I find very important) and plays by the rules. The acting isn't bad either. The father/daughter combo is convincing, as is the tension between the future stepmother and daughter. The characters don't do ridiculous things that make you go, "what?" And the ambiance is spooky enough.

There aren't any big name actors or actresses, but the lead characters are at least recognizable from other films. And they do a good job, which is the most important thing.

I definitely recommend the film. It can be found on Netflix for free, or Amazon Prime for $3.99.


Happy Viewing,
♥Spot

Dracula Untold-- 8 out of 10

I just saw the trailer for this movie this week, but it peaked my interest and last night I dragged my husband to the movies. I really didn't know what to expect. The beginning of the movie is narrated by Dracula's son, Ingeras, which is the first bit of movie invention. In real life, Vlad had two sons and neither was named Ingeras.

The movie goes on to tell the story of why Vlad becomes a vampire, and it's actually a noble cause. But like all fatally flawed characters, it's the nobility that gets him into trouble. Wanting to save his people and his family from the turks, he risks taking on the power of a vampire. He's told he will have the strength, healing properties, shape shifting abilities, and command of the night for three nights. If he abstains from drinking human blood for those three nights, he will simply die. If he partakes of human blood, he will be forever cursed to live in darkness.

Vlad does pretty well with resisting until everything goes to shit. When the chips are down, he decides the vampire gig is the only way to get revenge.

Visually, the movie is stunning. Lots of action, beautiful scenery, and the whole shape shifting thing is pretty awesome. Historical accuracy wise, the movie is pretty damned inaccurate. But I can suspend my knowledge for a short time, to enjoy the movie. And really, if you aren't a super huge horror nerd, you probably won't notice anyway. And you might not even then, unless you're also a history nerd.

So I gave the movie 8 stars because it entertained me, and isn't that what a movie is supposed to do? I didn't glance at my phone once. My butt did not get numb. I never once wondered when the movie would be over, or pondered where we should eat dinner. I was caught up in the onscreen action. Also, the guy playing Dracula was hott, in a dark, broody sort of way. (Which is my favorite way)

But only an 8 because I was left with a lot of questions. A lot. I won't pose them all here because it would spoil the movie. But generally, I don't like to leave the theatre with a lot of questions or having caught many discrepancies. I'll let it go this time because I love vampires.

So go for the entertainment factor, but don't expect brilliance.

Happy viewing,
♥Spot

The Crazies...9 out of 10.

The Crazies opened last Friday night. And after seeing the previews, Sean and I had already agreed to catch the movie opening night. After all, it was right up our movie going alley. It had people turning into monsters (the psychological kind, not actual, you know, monsters). It had loads of blood and violence. Woo-to-the-hoo!! What I did not know was that it was a remake of the 1973 George Romero film of the same name. WTH?! How did I miss a Romero film? What kind of fan am I?? I can tell you what kind of cake Stephen King had for his 11th birthday*, but I completely missed an entire film by George Romero?! Oh! The Shame!!

Having not seen the original, I can't compare the two. But what I can say is that the remake most likely did the original film justice. It was very good. And definitely had the feel of George Romero's films about it. While not a zombie film, it had a lot of the same feeling.

I think currently, films like these are even scarier given the recent swine flu panic. Everyone is more germ conscious these days. We avoid obviously ill people like the plague and carry hand sanitizer with us. And even if we didn't you can find it mounted on the wall in most restrooms. Our society has become much more aware of the possible spread of contagion. This film completely hits that nerve. Add to that our fear of government control and isolation and you have one scary as shit movie.

The movie centers on a small town in Iowa. Just your average everyday town until someone (patient zero in this case) walks onto a baseball field during a high school game with a shotgun. Soon, he's not the only one displaying odd behavior. The contagion spreads quickly and we quickly find out that it's the military's fault! Total shocker, huh? Okay, not really. C'mon, I didn't say the movie wasn't predictable. Soon our main characters, the town sheriff, his pregnant wife (who's also the town doctor), her teenage receptionist, and the deputy are fighting for their lives. Both against the infected, and the military, who have swooped down to contain the problem. Very soon, most of the people from the town are dead, the vehicles disabled and our four characters are completely cut off from the rest of the world. Getting to safety becomes their only goal. Unfortunately for them, they have to avoid not only the infected, but the military too.

Fortunately for us, that makes for one good story. The plot was fully fleshed out, if somewhat predictable. The acting was good. Timothy Olyphant, who seemed like a newcomer to me (until I found out he'd been in Stop Loss, The Perfect Getaway, and Catch and Release), is very good in his role of town sheriff torn between his duty to his badge and his friendship with the townspeople. Radha Mitchell, as his wife is also good. You may remember her from Surrogates, Silent Hill or Pitch Black.

All in all, 9 out of 10 from Sean and I.

♥Spot

*I don't really know what kind of cake he had. Geez! I'm not some crazy stalker.

Avatar~ 9 thumbs up.

So Sean has been begging asking to see Avatar since it came out. And I'll admit it...I was pretty intrigued too. We go to the movies alot on Tuesday nights because the theatre runs a special~ everyone gets in for matinee prices and you get these little bags for free popcorn. Sometimes we buy a soda, sometimes we sneak ones in (yeah, I'm like that). So we headed off to the movies last Tuesday night. (Yeah, the night before I left on my trip because I'm insane.)

When we got there we got a surprise. They were only showing Avatar in 3D. Not a biggie, except that it was an extra $3 per person, which kind of defeated the whole purpose of going on the cheap night. So we paid our money, got our free popcorn and a soda and found seats. Let me just say...the new 3D is amazing! I mean, I remember the old red/blue paper glasses. And if you took them off the whole screen was wavy and red and blue and made you want to hurl. They always gave me a huge headache and the effect was usually somewhat cheesy. Not so with the new technology. The glasses resembled those worn by Tommy Lee Jones in Men in Black. No red and blue anywhere. And if you took them off, still no red and blue! But wavy. So we got a preview of the upcoming Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland and I freakin swear the Cheshire Cat's head was right in front of me. Like scary close. I may have jumped. And Sean may have laughed at me. And Avatar? No cheesy effects for them. It was so subtle, more like you were actually in the movie than things popping out at you.

The movie itself? Personally, I thought it was fabulous. Visually stunning. Of course I had no doubt that it would be. James Cameron is known for his special effects and epic movies. The plot was well developed, if predictable. The characters were interesting and engaging. I felt the plight of the indigenous population and joined them in their loathing for the greedy, planet destroying, corporation. And the combat happy military force. Wait a minute...is Mr. Cameron trying to make a social statement here? How dare he slip that into my mindless entertainment!! The hell?!

I know there's been a lot of controversy surrounding the film. The Vatican is incensed because it promotes the worship of nature. Um. Dude. Didn't your God create all nature? So shouldn't we revere something he busted his ass on? And if he made nature and he made us...aren't we spiritually connected to the Earth?? I mean, I'm not dissing any religion here, but it makes sense to me. I don't think Mr. Cameron was trying to convert anyone to an older, nature based pagan religion here. I think he was just trying to point out that if we don't start respecting the Earth and clean our acts up, we're screwed. And you pretty much have to be an idiot not to have figured that out already, so settle down Pope. I don't see people leaving your religion in vast droves. See discussions of this here.

I also heard that the film was causing mass depression and even a few suicides. For real??! Wow. People truly are more stupid than I think. Should you be depressed? Um. Maybe. I guess that depends on how huge your carbon footprint is. But suicide? Because of a movie? That's probably the biggest bunch of ridiculousness I've heard lately. I guess that's one way to wipe out your carbon footprint, drastic though it may be. But I left the movie in a good mood. I mean the little guys( figuratively, not literally because they were like 9 feet tall) won! They kicked our polluting butts off their planet. They kept their spirit trees and Unobtainium (seriously, who came up with that name for the power source??). They joined forces with the other living creatures on their planet. And the hott marine got to stay in his alien blue body and have working legs and alien sex and ride dragons. Doesn't that just scream "Happy" to you? Because it did to me!

So overall? I give it 9 out of 10 thumbs up. It was a tad long but I was never bored. (My hip just started aching sitting there so long!) And the glasses did give me a slight headache, but I thought it was worth it. Very entertaining. And really, isn't that the point?

happy viewing,
♥Spot