Sorry you've had to wait!

I've been pretty busy (working, eating, sleeping, watching DVDs/Blurays etc) and haven't been reviewing as much as i hoped i could. Let's see what i've seen:

Miracle on 34th Street (1947). I really enjoyed this movie as everyone gives a stellar performance (including Edmund Gwenn who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Kris Kringle). In fact this was such a good Christmas movie that it almost makes you believe in Santa Clause. I saw the remake a while ago and found it... Well i just didn't get into it, maybe because the acting wasn't good or because the script wasn't. Maybe both.

Scream 2 (1997). Funny, fairly suspenseful, good death scenes and great to watch while enjoying some junk food. it's not as good as the first, but definitely a worthy successor, all of the principle cast return and we even get to see Sarah Michele Gellar get killed (i just found it very funny because i could just see Buffy kicking Ghost Face's ass).

Reefer Madness (2005). This is quite possibly my favourite musical of the last decade, it is hilariously over the top, deliciously camp and is home to wildly inventive songs, it is rare that a musical doesn't go by without at least one forgettable song (usually there just to fill in time) but this movie had none. It was brilliant. It stars Christian Campbell, Kristen Bell, Alan Cumming (Amazing), Amy Spanger, Ana Gasteyer and Steven Weber. Plus we get the added bonus of Neve Campbell (i say bonus because A: i didn't know she could sing or dance and B-  I just plain wasn't expecting to see her). Another great thing about this movie is that no other film in the history of the world has a list of characters that includes The Statue Of liberty, George Washington, Jesus, Uncle Sam and The Devil. None. At. All.

Heroes: Season 1. I enjoyed this show back when it was on but halfway through season 3 i just gave up on it, they kept the lame characters around too long (i wish they'd killed Claire slowly and painfully) and didn't spend enough time developing the more interesting ones. But Season 1 is astoundingly good and has what almost every other season lacked: a sense of humour. They didn't have one character that was there purely the comic relief, instead the comedy was a bi product of the characters and their personalities. Season 2 suffered due to the writers strike but it did hold good ideas, then in season 3 they just kind of lost it. I can't comment of season 4 as i haven't watched all of it yet.

The Descent (2007). A well shot suspense thriller (i don't really see it as a horror movie) that gives us a real sense of claustrophobia and fear for the characters who are trapped in a cave and then hunted by the (really gross) inhabitants. Unlike most of these kinds of movies this one got a genuine fright out of me (if only one). Recommended.

Halloween (1978). Enjoyable but very unscary movie that is everything that Scream satirizes, from the obligatory nude scene to the 'have sex and you will die' rule. The main score is chilling, Michael's mask is miles better than it was in the remake and PJ Soles says 'Totally' about ten times in one scene. Not even in exaggerating that one. Great popcorn flick with good direction but John Carpenter, however the acting is mediocre. Totally.

Now for a film i am very excited about: Les Miserables. I love the music, it's beautiful. I haven't seen the musical on stage and i know that I probably never will, so that is why i am excited for this movie. It is to star Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Aaron Tveit, Russell Crowe, Eddie Redmayne and (i don't think it's official yet) Amanda Seyfried. I heard that director Tom Hooper wants to hire Tayor Swift for Eponine to which i say "NO!!!!!!!!!!!" I don't hate Taylor Swift, she's a good country/pop singer and seems like a nice person. But i don't think she could pull off the demanding score or the acting required. The rest of the cast i wont complain about because to be honest i'm happy with them (although i can understand the skepticism about Hathaway and Seyfried.) Seyfried isn't really known as a singer, i know she is trained as one (at least that's what i read somewhere) but the fact that she doesn't use her voice much - besides for Mama Mia which wasn't really that good of a film- is probably troubling people. Oh well, i just hope that it's a good movie. Because that's all i want.

"Like Montague! That's not even a real word i looked it up in two different dictionaries" Mary lane (Kristen Bell) Reefer Madness

Scream (1996)

Where were you when Scream forever changed the rules of horror? (i was being born). Suddenly the basic cliche's and staples of the teen scream subgenre were outed for their predictability and cheesiness. Ah, yes, Scream and it's sequels (number 4 came out recently and i've heard it's pretty good), it's imitators (the I Know what you did last summer franchise) and it's parodies (the Scary Movie franchise). Teen slashers and the 'movie' spoofs would be frightfully different if Scream - directed well by modern master of suspense Wes Craven - hadn't some on the scene.

To begin what has become one of my favourite horror movies we have Casey (Drew Barrymore) answering the phone, now considering Barrymore's stardom back in 1996 (and she's still popular today) imagine the shock that came to audiences when she was murdered. Not unlike the shock audiences got when Janet Leigh met her untimely death 20 minutes into Psycho (1960). 

As i was saying: from here the story unfolds and comes to focus on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and other characters connected to her. Oh and Courtney Cox is in there as reporter Gale Weathers (i like her better in this than i ever did on Friends) who is desperate to know everything, of course (as most people know) she ended up romancing Dewey (David Arquette) both on and off the screen.

i love this movie, i cannot put into words how much i love it. Not only is it well acted (something i know i didn't expect) but it also points out how dumb and funny horror movies are (and also slyly referencing Jamie Lee Curtis' abundant presence in a lot of them). Steve Ulrich as Billy (Sidney's boyfriend) is a good performance, he kind of reminded me of Johnny Depp in this movie, i think that was the intention. 

I have yet to see 2, 3, 4 but i want to very much. You see, i wanted to see 4, but first i simply had to see the original. I hate when people see the remake or sequel without seeing the original film, it's a sort pet peeve of mine. 

I don't watch a lot of horror movies, but i can tell you that when i do watch one they are usually of the teenage slasher variety, none of them have ever really lived up to my expectations, but this one managed to. That's pretty big then. Some parts of are even, well, not 'scary, but genuinely suspenseful.

I have been inspired. I am going to seek out more horrors. But only the good ones, not trashy horror (i can't stand those) i'm talking The Exorcist, Halloween and Misery (already read and loved the book). I love it when a film inspires me to do something, it hasn't happened in a while. I 'm just glad it hasn't inspired me to be a serial killer, but then....

"We all go a little mad sometimes" Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) Psycho (1960)