Silent Hill

Silent Hill
(2006) [Trailer]
Director: Christophe Gans [IMDB]

My wife and I decided to sit down yesterday evening with our daughter and have a movie night. So at this point in the review (if you know me) you're probably asking yourself "Wait... Curtis doesn't have a kid?" You would be correct, we have a Zoe... an adopted older child who hangs out with us from time to time. She's like a wild feral cat we've taken in... she's independent but will often return to us for food and temporary shelter. It was her recommendation that we watch this movie and I ended up finding it for cheap on blu-ray... so here you go.

Synopsis: A little girl goes missing after her mom takes her to a mysterious ghost town called...you guessed it... Silent Hill.

This film is very convoluted and the story line is a bit of a stretch, but at the end of it you'll get the over all gist of things. The film definitely feels like a Marilyn Manson video, with that said there's a lot of really impressive visuals, especially if you're a goth. I wasn't a fan of the little girl in this, she's not the best at that whole thing they call acting. I'm about 50/50 on this, it isn't mind blowing, just good creepy horror and fun for the whole family.

Stargate

Stargate
(1994) [Trailer]
Director: Roland Emmerich (IMDB)

Synopsis: Earthlings find a secret gateway to another planet that lays halfway across the universe.

I hadn't seen this movie in awhile and I forgot a lot of it. I remembered really loving it back then, but I also really loved Earth Crisis... so that doesn't say much about my tastes. I can say after watching Stargate again last night I feel about the same way as I felt after listening to that Earth Crisis song again... IT'S SHIT!

I'm kidding... it's not shit, it's still a pretty fun film. It looks great and the effects hold up, it's especially pleasant on blu-ray. Kurt Russell is rad as always, James Spader looks like my friend Eric... here see for yourself. For me Stargate really starts to wear out it's welcome about an hour and a half in. I don't know if it was because I was drunk or bored, but it felt way too long. I did watch the extended version, maybe that was a mistake. I would say if you're into sci-fi, definitely seek this out... if you're not into sci-fi, you're a wanker.

Casino Royale

Casino Royale
(2006) [Trailer]
Director: Martin Campbell (IMDB)

Synopsis: Daniel Craig steps out as the new James Bond and takes on a ruthless poker player... exciting right?

I haven't seen a 007 film since Octopussy in the 80's, I don't know why, but they never really rank high on my "films to see" list. This being said, I heard recently that Roger Moore said Daniel Craig was the best Bond ever, so with that kind of recommendation I figured I'd give it a poke.

I really loved the black and white opening to Casino Royale, it set the film off in a great direction for me. It then blasts into an insane and almost unbelievable foot chase through Madagascar, which was pretty impressive. From there the film takes shape and slows pace a little, ultimately leading to a very drawn out ending.

Craig is indeed a very effective Bond, I also like Eva Green as the "Bond Girl". The bad guy was very well cast; I liked him a lot, he had a very classic villain feel about him.

This is a cool film and I'm glad I picked it up on blu-ray, I could see rewatching it in the future.

Creepshow

Creepshow
(1982) [Trailer]
Director: George A. Romero (IMDB)

Synopsis: A series of stories designed to scare the shit out of you.

I have a secret spot for finding blu-rays when I'm down visiting my parents in Virginia Beach. This store actually has multiple locations and I went to all of them over this last week and picked up about 20 new titles in total. I found this little gem for a meer $4.99. Now that's a deal son!

So anyways, you're probably asking yourself, "What about the movie? Who cares about your shitty blu-ray collecting story?" Fine, here's some insight into Creepshow.

This is another choice cut from my youth. I'm not 100% in love with Creepshow, some segments work better than others. The father's day, the crate, and the cockroach installments are my favorites. The segments with Stephen King and with Ted Danson were the worse. I like the effects, lighting and use of backgrounds like THIS in certain scenes.

There's nothing ground breaking here, just fun 80's horror. It's available on Netflix instant as well.