Jun

15

“The Uninvited” (2009)

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June 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment

And yet another Asian horror remake, along the lines of “The Ring“, “The Grudge” and “Shutter“; however, I enjoyed this one, based on the original “A Tale of Two Sisters.”
Espousing the prototypical psychological thriller genre, the movie revolves around Anna (Emily Browning) who returns home to her father (David Strathairn), her sister Alex (Arielle Kebbel), and [...]

Jun

15

“Defiance” (2008)

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June 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Oh those blue eyes of Daniel Craig…wow.  I’m not particularly a fan of him as James Bond but in “Defiance” he was amazing as one of the three Jewish Bielski brothers (the other two played by Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) who, during WWII, rescued several Jews,  maintained a forest-based camp in German-occupied Belarussia, and taught them to [...]

Jun

15

A nice gem of a film

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June 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Recommended by our local Hollywood Video buddies, Mr_Movie_Maven and I rented “Passengers” (2008) starring Anne Hathaway, Patrick Wilson, Dianne Wiest, and David Morse.  To be honest, I never heard about it before and the plot was interesting.  Counselor Hathaway works with plane crash survivors to overcome their emotions.  Sounds simple enough, right?  But that’s only the beginning.
The [...]

Feb

8

Spotlight on Writer/Director Alexandre Aja

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February 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Ooh la la.  I have another favorite horror movie maker:  French writer/director Aja, with whom I gained familiarity after watching the 2003 film Haute Tension (High Tension.)  As a fan of horror, I was thoroughly entertained by the film and by Aja’s directorial vision. 
Aja, born in Paris in 1978, is a member of Hollywood’s unofficial “splat [...]

Nov

6

Remembering Michael Crichton

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November 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Michael Crichton, author and screenwriter extraordinnaire died Tuesday at the age of 66 after a private battle with cancer.  He is survived by his wife, Sherri Alexander and daughter, Taylor (with ex-wife Anne-Marie Martin.)
Crichton was born in Chicago, IL, on Oct. 23, 1942, and raised in Roslyn, NY, by his journalist father who urged him to write.  After [...]

Jun

26

The Passing of a Legend

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June 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Cyd Charisse, actress and danseur extraordinaire passed away on Monday, June 17th at the age of 86 from an apparent heart attack. 
Born Tula Finklea in 1921, she began her dancing career with the Ballet Russe, where, on tour in Europe, she met and married French dancer Nico Charisse, whom she wed in 1939 in Paris.  Prior to appearing [...]

May

13

Update: Horrorfest 2007

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May 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Apparently I erred, inadvertently leaving Tooth and Nail off my last post regarding the ‘8 Films to Die For’ movies this season.  (My profuse apologies to everyone involved in the making of this film.)
Well, to update you, dear readers.  We did, in fact, watch The Deaths of Ian Stone, Tooth and Nail, Mulberry Street, and Frontier(s) last night.
Ian [...]

Mar

11

For All You Independent Horror Fans…

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March 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment

While channel surfing last week, I noticed an interesting little movie on Showtime entitled “Salvage (2006).”  As a horror-flick lover, I was intrigued by the description, “A young woman continuously relives her own murder by a knife-wielding maniac.”  This film is also called “Gruesome” overseas and earned widespread release in small independent film festivals.
At a short [...]