I just started Infernal tonight. I'm about 20 or so pages into it and BAM, dealt a real blow already!

SPOILERS - don't read further if you've not read this novel yet.

I'm ticked, really ticked at FPW right now, but at the exact same time, he's got my admiration and respect in a big way.

So few writers have ever been able to get genuine emotion of out me. When I read Jack's father's death, I actually cursed out loud, scaring my wife who was in the bedroom. Then, I had to explain what happened and of course I was embarrassed! =)

She said what I was thinking - it's only a fictional character. But even though, hell and damnation, I was really upset at this.

Again, I have a great deal more respect and admiration for Mr. Wilson now, even if he made me angry, and I made a fool of myself in the process!

Chris

Sequels are hardly ever better than the first film. Even Superman II which is hailed as a superior film is truly not when compared with the original. It fell flat when compared with the polished perfection of its predecessor.

Horror films, if remotely successful, spawn usually more than their fair share of sequels...none of them any good save for the SAW franchise which manages to keep the stories well written and intriguing.

Hills 2 is a rare exception to sequels where it not only is worse than the original but could possibly be the worst film ever made.

Absent from the helm is Alexander Aja, creator of the intense (and Intensity ripoff) Haute Tension (AKA High Tension/Switchblade Romance). Aja seemed perfectly suited for the 2006 remake of Hills especially after his debut with Tension.

Hills 06 was a decent little flick that upped the ante on the original film by Wes Crave, but stuck to the premise faithfully. It created a tense and often unrelentingly violent portrayal of a family in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

The villains were henous and barbaric and the kills were methodically slow and torturous. The tag line "The lucky ones die first" was appropos.

It amazes me how fast Hollywood churned this sequel out, less than a year after the first film horrified audiences. Even more surprising was the lack of advertising this film received. Justly so, after having seen it I wouldn't have heavily advertised it for the sake of saving money.

I consider this the studios "ugly" child. Kind of like a proud parent boastng; "I have 3 beautiful children. I have 4 total, but 3 of them are beautuiful...the other one...eh...not so much."

Fox Atomic, the evil step-sibling of Fox Faith distributed this film with little to no fanfare. The general premise is a group of national Guard trainees screw up their training so poorly that they have to die for it. I am sure that wasn't the writers intent, (Wes Craven's son took the helm from the competent hands of Aja) but it sure came across that way.

After failing miserably in a training session (where apaprently live rounds are used) a rag-tag group of military rejects led by a smart-mouthed Sgt. head of to the desert to deliver supplies to a group of researchers. Upon arriving they find camp desolate and abandoned. From there it goes downhill and is rife with cliche.

The group includes the war-weary soldier with the heart of gold, a single mother serving her country part-time who spends a majority of time looking at a video of her son on her cell phone (the equivelant of a soldier showing a picture of his loved one to his friends in the trenches...clearly she has never watched a war movie in her life.) There is the ready to rumble troop who hates everyone just because it is cool to do so and a cast of other forgettables who serve no purpose other than to die. (Including an overweight soldier with a lisp.)

I am not sure what branch of service this group serves, they state Army but can't seem to help calling their Sgt sir. (Sir, yes sir!)

The scares are few and far between, actually nothing was really scary. Gross out scenarios replaced the thrills from the first film and inculde memorable shocks such as someone in the waste tank of an outhouse and a prolonged rape scene complete with slimey drool and abnormally long Gene Simmons inspired tongue.

The game of cat and mouse begins and the soldiers fight to stay alive. Roll credits.

The underground sets were designed by the people who made the cavernous sets for The Descent. I only mention this because they are perhaps the only thing interesting in the entire movie. If you like cavernous sets this is definitely for you. Rocks abound!

The villians in this film are cookie-cutter assembly line mutants. No care was given to flesh them out as was done in the first. No names were given to them as they were simply there to quickly dispatch the soldiers. Even the one mutant who tries to help (he must be vegetarian) doesn't stick with the audience.

Perhaps, God-Willing, we won't have anymore Hills movies to look forward to. But I am sure there will another piss-poor franchise waiting in the wings to take its place.

If one day you and some friends are sitting around and one of them says, "Hey, let's see The Hills have Eyes 2" simply lacerate their eye with a pen cap. Oh, it'll sting for a while, but they will be much better for it.

I found a paperback copy of The Select today at the Salvation Army. If you would like it, let me know and I will send it out.

I watched Almost Famous again last night and enjoyed it a lot more than the first time. I think perhaps my expectations were too lofty the first viewing being a Crowe fan, lover of classic rock and the Oscar-buzz surrounding it. Still not sure it warranted all the raves, but I felt more satisfied on my second helping. Frances McDormand and Philip Seymour Hoffman were both excellent.

Tsotsi = desperado


Today I also saw South African movie, "Tsotsi". What a movie! "Tsotsi" will leave you numb, just physically numb for maybe an hour after you've seen it. The tale of a young gang in the slums of Africa who finds himself caring for a baby after shooting its mother in a carjacking is equal parts beautiful and ugly, touching and disturbing.

This certainly isn't something you should see if you want to relax or are feeling a bit down. Has anyone seen "City of God"? Yes, "Tsotsi" is also unsettling and horrific like "CoG". But it's hard to find fault with Tsotsi. Running time is 94 minutes, but you won't really say it's too long.

The character development, particularly of Tsotsi, is realistic. As I said, this is shocking and brutal but incredibly touching tale. Presley Chweneyagae who played Tsotsi. At first, he was brutal and disgusting guy. But that cause was in his childhood. By and by, he regain his tenderness.

Without a doubt, this is an unforgettable cinematic experience that is more than worthy of your time and your money. Trust me.

As a result, one little baby could change gang's heart. That's why this is wonderful story, even if violence movie.

Today, I saw "Sunshine" in a theatre.

In "Deep Impact", "Armageddon", human always tried to save the Earth, at any cost, and succeeded.

In this "Sunshine", at last sun's flame decreased! Eight astronauts's mission:They carry one nuclear bomb(Manhattan size!!!) to the sun, then they launch it to the sun for rebirth of the sun.

Yes, it is! I guess it remind you of "The Core". But it's not totally like "The Core". "The Core" was crap(I liked Hilary Swank, though). It's like "2001:A Space Odyssey" meet "Event Horizon". Can you imagine that?

I warn you, "Sunshine" is very desperate situation. It's very dark story. But I don't do spoiler, so I don't say about it any more. So, what should I say?

I want to say about excellent casting. Eight astronauts. They came from Ireland, America, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, England, and Japan. Moreover, captain is Japanese! Wow, I can't believe it! In any Hollywood SF movies, I've never seen Japanese actor played spaceship's captain. He is Hiroyuki Sanada, very famous Japanese actor. He played one of Samurais in "The Last Samurai".

http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0760796/

If you haven't seen his "Ninja in the Dragon's Den ", check this. This is great and my favorite Kung-Fu vs. Ninja movie.



Other actors&actresses:Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Benedict Wong. They did good acting.

Oh, and one more thing. If you're expecting hard action and spectacle to this movie, I think you get boring in first 90 min. But you should have patience. Because, last 20 min, you'll get very much frightened. :eek:

I love it when Academy Award winners take on roles in bad films. It makes them more human and less iconic. Not that I would consider Hillary Swank an Icon.

In Hillary's defense she is not the first to make a poor a decision while riding on an Oscar high.

Halle Berry made the abysmal Gothika. Angelina Jolie went from Girl Interrupted to Tomb Raider and Helen Mirren will go from Queen to Nic Cage's mother in National Treasure 2: The Quest for More Money. (Or whatever it will be called.)

Had the Reaping taken it's general premise of a former preacher turned debunker of miracles and followed it throughh to an "Everything has a logical explanation" ending the movie would have been quasi-enjoyable.

Instead, it takes the well-worn path of cliche and the film stumbles along trying to figure out if it wants to be a murder mystery, a supernatural thriller, or a faith-based drama about the loss of faith and one womans journey to discovering God's ultimate plan.

I am still not sure what I watched, to categorize it means to give substance to something where it doesn't exist. The Reaping is an empty and hollow film and an exercise in seeing how many jump-scares a writer can fit into one script.

At times the jump scares come in series of threes with the clash of loud music. But they aren't scary because any horror-schooled vet knows that when the God damn music stops suddenly something bad is going to happen.

And bad things happen in spades: from the river turning to blood, to the plague of locusts and a myriad of other manifestations of the end times.

Meanwhile a creepy girl (damn the Japanese for instilling fear of female children into the movie-goers psyche) shows up and everytime she does something goes horriby awry. Harbinger of doom? (maybe) Possible savior to humanity? (plausible) Shitty plot device used to fill in what could easily have been a 30-minute movie? (You got it.)

Undoubtedly some folks will disagree with this review and hail it as a thrilling experience, taut and gripping and the studio will grab the quotes and blurb them in upcoming commercials for the film.

I submit my blurb for such purpose; The Reaping: Avoid it like the plague.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independen...p/trailer/

and

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_search...ywatch/hd/

Has anyone seen this? If not, put it in your Netflix queue IMMEDIATELY. It's only a half hour long or so but it's fantastic. Even if you're not a cartoon lover. I can't detail it for you (I'm driving) but read the descrip in Netflix. It's got the best scene ever of the bad guy obtaining the info.

I've added a link below for the trailer of Eli Roth's Thanksgiving. About as funny as they come. There are some brief flashes of nudity and gratuitous horror film violence. I don't know about you guys but I'll pass on the stuffing next year. Check it out.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nbSKnL4WFJM