Friday, January 6, 2012

Review: The Devil Inside


Last year's APOLLO 18 is a strong contender for worst horror movie of 2011 and quite possibly worst movie period. Straight out of the gate this year we get THE DEVIL INSIDE and already it seems to be vying for that same title.


With the exception of a few strong performances from co-stars Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth, and even the possessed mother Suzan Crowley, THE DEVIL INSIDE boasts some of the most unrealistic docu-acting in recent memory. Even the lead Fernanda Andrade struggled to convince me that this stuff was actually happening to her.

The not-so-strong acting did not contribute any to the fact that this movie is not the thought-provoking commentary on science and faith that it pretends to be. Though these filmmakers take a shot or two at the Holy C and some of their questionable methods dealing with exorcisms, they never delve down past the point of somebody pointing out that: "The Church isn't going to like this..."

But perhaps the most unforgivable sin committed by this movie by these filmmakers is substituting actual scare tactics for sick, twisted deaths involving drowning a baby during an baptism and a guy shooting himself in the mouth with a policeman's handgun. These filmmakers attempt to scare the audience by disturbing them, which would work if there was a healthy balance of actual jumpy scares.

THE DEVIL INSIDE definitely earns its R-rating: it's bloody, grizzly, and demented. With that said, this movie will also undoubtedly earn a spot on my list of the most boring, most unscary, most unnecessary movies of 2012.

Monday, January 2, 2012

My Favorite 2011 Films

It's been a while, but I'm back!

Don't worry, I've been just as busy as ever seeing movies (if not, more so)! And in the process I have seen some good movies and not so good movies. Let me take some time now to reflect on the past year in movies and give you a list of my 2011 favorites.

Don't worry, you won't be seeing anything too classy like Tree of Life of The Descendants in my list (mostly because I don't care to see them).


10. ) Rubber












No reason.



9.) Insidious















Enough with the torture porn! James Wan proves that you don't need to chop people up into kibbles'n bits in order to scare an audience these days.



8.) Contagion









This movie's sick. Ha-ha. No, but seriously, it's actually pretty good.



7.) Hanna











I'm a sucker for artsy flicks- especially the good ones.



6.) Our Idiot Brother













As funny as it is heartwarming. No humorous quip here.



5.) Moneyball













Yes it's a dialouge-driven, baseball movie centered around a team that never won the big prize or amounted to anything huge in the history of sports. It's also one of the best movies of the year.



4.) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol












If you're going to put your life on the line and dangle from the world's tallest building for your movie, you'd probably want to be absolutely sure that your movie is going to be one of the best movies of the year.


3.) 50/50














The odds that this is one of the most enjoyable films of the year is more like 100%.


2.) The Muppets












That's right, a 'Muppets' movie.


1.) Drive











The only movie I loved more than The Muppets.



Honorable Mentions: Horrible Bosses, The Beaver, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. II, Source Code