Isle of the Dead (1945)

Isle of the Dead is a short and sweet horror film from producer Val Lewton and starring Horror icon Boris Karloff. Of the three films these two collaborated on I believe this one is my favorite. It has an ominous mood that coarses through the film, an impending dread hangs around every corner. Its almost like a slasher film where the killer is the plague. The film is about a plague ridden island and its trapped inhabitants. A power mad General (Karloff) tries to run things with a superstitious nature that unsettles everyone involved. The movie is only a little over an hour long so I don't want to give too much away, but it is definitely worth a shot if you don't feel like spending too much time on a movie and just kick back and relax on a storming evening in.

6.5 out of 10

The Killer Inside Me (2010)

Everytime I watch a movie with Casey Affleck, I can't help but notice how much he resembles his brother. Physically, at least. Contrary to Ben's style, however, Casey emits a lazy kind of persona in his acting and, unexpectedly, it comes off as brilliant.

The Killer Inside Me is a strange exploration into the mind of a normal person gone murderous. Throughout the film, Lou (Affleck) explains his killings through reasoning and compassion. While it is difficult to say whether he is making up scenarios to justify his bloodthirst or whether he really did believe these things, it is clear that his mental state is skewed. The film slowly reveals the cause of these abnormalities from his childhood, somehow morphing into a devious monster. Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson are mediocre as his love interests, but the fill the roles just perfectly for the tone of the movie. Costars Simon Baker and Ned Beatty are pretty good, but tend to play their roles fairly straight compared to Affleck. In fact, Affleck's aloof nature makes the character that much more sinister.

Overall, it was a kind of sad, kind of annoying film. Affleck's acting was pretty good, but it couldn't offset the dreary tone of the movie.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Mary Reilly (1996)

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been done to death. If you walk into a video store and toss a rock at one of the shelves, other than the clerk yelling at you and telling you to leave, you'll most likely hit a version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that will cause dust clouds to form, no one cares, it'll sit and no one will watch it. Dozens of Direct to video adaptations have been made and dozens of stage version have been produced. The novel is a simple tale about a man who's split personality is given a life of his own (when you get down to brass tacks that is). With Mary Reilly you'll get what appears to be a fresh interpretation but falls rather flat. The first hour of the film is completely dull, but hopefully you wake up for the second half that has some redeeming qualities in its horror aspect with some mild gore and a one of a kind transformation that does involve some bad cg for a split second. The story comes from the point of view of a house maid (You guessed it Mary Reilly) played with an annoying Irish accent by Julia Roberts, she is in love with the good doctor for he is everything her abusive father wasn't and she also begins to pine for Mr. Hyde for his sexual deviant and forbidden qualities, following that is the step by step plot line from every other version, with the usual deviations. John Malkovich's performance is up and down, he puts his all into Hyde but falls flat everytime he's the good doctor, not much information is available online for the film, but it looks as if he gained weight for the doctor after most likely filming all his Hyde scenes. I'm getting bored out of my mind just writing the review, I'm so done with this movie.

4.5 out of 10

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Yesterday, April 3rd, 2011, Eddie Murphy turned 50 years old. A long departure from his youthful playfulness, Murphy has become a seasoned veteran in comedy, resigned to voice acting and Shrek gigs. Not that he's become any less funny over the years: he will always hold a place in my heart as one of the funniest comedians of all time. Not because he was iconic as a black satirist, and not because he does great impersonations or uses hilarious phrases. Eddie Murphy has become a legend, built on intelligent dialogue and timeless jokes. He's simply a very funny guy.

Some of his best non-standup work can be witnessed in Beverly Hills Cop, the heart and soul of 80's comedy-action police force flicks (some would argue the quintessential movie in that category would be Police Academy, but I'm tempted to disagree...). Eddie Murphy shines and thrives in a scenario filled with characters lacking humor and personality. He is in stark contrast to the Beverly Hills cops, the "bad guys", and even his love interest. He's smarter, funnier, and wittier than any other character in the film, and Murphy manages to even work in a down-to-earth street sense that adds layers of personality unheard of in a comedy such as this.

The story is typical: out-of-place cop trying to expose an unlikely villain, running into trouble from both sides of the law. Although his physical and mental strength are utilized, they are nothing compared to his use of outrageous impressions, from the indignant police chief in the warehouse to the outspoken lover of questionable sexuality in the hotel. It's hilarious and satisfying to see Eddie Murphy work his comedic magic, fulfilling his deceptively simple role and energizing an already amusing script. This is all compounded by big hair, hip clothes, and awesome 80s action music that maybe belongs in a Nintendo game. Regardless, it fits well along with everything else in the film. Beverly Hills Cop is Eddie Murphy's acting masterpiece, a film he was born to star in. It's a classic in its simplicity, and it's timeless in its humor. While not necessarily emotionally spellbinding, it's the best in its class, and that's really saying something.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

SNL - Jim Carrey - Fire Marshall Bill

Sara Booth 1964 - 2011 My Aunt

It's always terrible when someone close to you dies. You don't always know how to react, a family member that you've been out of touch with for many years is always difficult to show any kind of emotion. I did love my aunt. As a child she must have been my most favorite person in the world. Like most of my family she wasn't always around alot, but it was always great when I got to see her. I was her sister's son and when your mother is 14 when she gives birth to you, for a younger sister who is your aunt you become closer than just a nephew you're more like a friend and a little brother yourself. Not alot but a decent amount of who I am can be attributed to my aunt Sara, my love of all things horror for starters can be attributed to her, staying up late and watching Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, the classics, those were movies from her teenage years adn she watched them over and over, particularly Friday, for she was born on Friday the 13th and that has been my favorite slasher series for as long as I can remember. It didn't matter what holiday she stayed over for or any random visit, she'd throw on a horror movie and usually it was House of Wax or Hellraiser, maybe she even picked up some random direct to video horror movie from Star Video up the street, that's where my horror knowledge begins. Sadly though she may have created my fear of driving. She loved off-roading and driving fast when she could and like the good aunt (Maybe even to a fault) she always wanted me along for the fun, I may have been to young to enjoy it for I was always scared, everytime we went out to four wheel or if she hit the gas maybe even a little too much. But let's not talk about the bad things. Some of my favorite memories are with her, practically every other weekend she would take us skating (My siblings or my friend Ian) roller skating at what used to be known as King Skate. I honestly hated doing that too because it was a learning experience everytime, but after awhile I got into the hang of skating and hit the rink instead of playing the simpsons arcade game or only skating on the carpeted area. What I remember most is how she loved the fast skate and the song," Look out Weekends, " by Debbie Deb. On halloweens she always did the cheap do it yourself costumes and I was along for the ride. Her favorite football team was the Oakland Raiders and as soon as I knew what that meant they were my favorite too and still to this day I am, in this nation of Raider haters that is known as Reno, NV. She loved doing things, all kinds of things, didn't matter what, she loved just going out and getting ice cream or watching christmas lights or just anything that was fun. Most of the time I hated going out (Have I really changed that much) but usually when Sara wanted to do something I went or I would only do something if she was too. So many memories and this post is going on far too long as it is, but she always loved me and let me know, with a tiny gift or just a letter that she would send, even if it wasn't from the most encouraging of places. She loved my Fire Marshall Bill impression and I always would do it on command, I would do it now if it could bring her back. I'm sorry sge left us, I wish it wasn't the way she chose to do it most especially. I love you Auntie. Godspeed.

Book of Blood (2009)

Clive Barker's recent film adaptation have been dark in lighting and weak on story and follow through, while they do tend to have a big finish, getting there... Is it worth it? With Book of Blood I would have to agree not. The ghost scenes at the end are spooky and the end does tend to be faithful to the source material, what we have leading up to it just falls flat. A paranormal scientist (Sophie Ward) and her assistant are conducting research in a supposed haunted house when she finds a haunted young man who she will use as the conduit. Now this set-up works but it lasts the majority of the movie just to find out... Well, you'll have to watch the film and see, but I think it causes the movie to have major faults, who knows maybe you've already turned it off and moved on by this point, which just shows it really isn't worth it to get all this build up to be let down and miss out on an ending that is worth watching.

5 out 10