Movies This Week

It Waits (2005)

[Cerina Vincent, Dominic Zamprogna]

This movie is about a demon that is released from a cave in the forests of a mountain, and the park ranger who tries to survive it.

The scenery is beautiful. Some of the acting isn't bad. But the plot is just lacking. And the scares aren't scary. The ranger, Danny, has a backstory of pain and guilt that is supposed to make you feel for her. But I just didn't care. Too much of a mish-mash for me. It was all just boring.

I would not watch it again.

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The Mask of Zorro (1998)

[Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins]

Finally, a GREAT movie! This was recommended by Calvin from Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool and I want to thank him.

Great story, great acting, great action... Just great. This has to be the best version of Zorro ever. I know lots of remakes or reimaginings get bad-raps (and usually for good reason), but this shows that sometimes, when all the right people are involved, it can become an even better creation. Wonderful movie.

Will DEFINITELY watch this one again!

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Dawn of the Dead (2004)

[Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jack Weber, Mekhi Phifer]

Okay, I have never been a big zombie fan. I mean, I like the idea of them, but my only "favorite zombie movie" has ever been the original Night of the Living Dead (1968).

I have yet to see the original "Dawn of the Dead", so I can't compare that one to this remake. But this film was great. Loved the characters, loved the scenes and the action. The zombies were scary as hell, chasing the people, but not as "specific" victims, just to eat.

I am going to have to see some more of these movies, as so many other horror fans cite some of them as movies they love. Maybe, if they are as good as this one, they will grow on me, too.

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Shivers (1975)

[Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry, Barbara Steele]

This is the Canadian horror film by David Cronenberg. Basically, it is about parasitic creatures run amok in an apartment building, initially spread around by an unaware, promiscuous girl who a scientist uses as a guinea pig.

This movie was better than I thought it was going to be. I am usually wary of Cronenberg, as some of his films just are too much, visually, for me. This one definitely has some of those scenes, but it wasn't as "much" as I expected.

When the M.D. checks on that guy in the bed... well, THAT was quite the scene. And the end reminds me of a horde of zombies.

Good horror flick, definitely a 70s movie, for sure! Might watch it again sometime, and I might have to give Cronenberg flicks another chance.

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The 13th Warrior (1999)

[Antonio Banderas, Vladimir Kulich]

Another recommendation from Calvin, this movie is about an Arabic man named Ahmed who is sent on mission, but only as a means to get him out of his city, since he has ticked off a nobleman.

He soon meets a group of Vikings and when an oracle deems that 13 men must go on a mission to thwart some horrific beings known as the Wendol, he becomes the 13th man.

While not my usual type of movie, this is still a great one with amazing action and acting, and beautiful scenery. I think I need to watch it again, to appreciate it all. Definitely recommended.

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Nightwatch (1997)

[Ewan McGregor, Josh Brolin, Patricia Arquette, Nick Nolte]

Martin, a law school student, gets a job as a night guard at a morgue. At the same time a killer is offing prostitutes and his best friend is also acting quite strangely. Martin is soon under suspicion himself. Is someone framing him or is he the killer?

This is a remake of a Danish film called Nattevagten (1994). Both films were directed by Ole Bornedal. I haven't seen the original, so I can't compare the two.

McGregor is good, his accent pops in here and there, though. Brolin and Nolte are good, as well.

Good mystery/thriller with an intense ending. I would watch it again sometime.

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Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del fauno) (2006)

[Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Maribel Verdu]

I had heard great things about this movie, and it is all true. It is a great story set in 1940's Spain, after the Spanish Civil War. A girl and her pregnant mother move to live with the mother's new husband, a sadistic Captain. She encounters a bizarre faun in the garden and is soon caught up in strange quest.

Guillermo del Toro is a great director, crafting an amazingly complex and intriguing tale, an adult fantasy tale, albeit a very sad one. The mythical creatures are amazing, and compared with some of the humans, much less scary.

Great movie, although a bit violent at times. I will watch it again.

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Captivity (2007)

[Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince]

This was a movie I went into with not much hope. Just thought it was gonna be another Saw/Hostel type movie. It was actually different, not great, but better than I expected.

A super-model is drugged and kidnapped from a charity party, and her captivity at the hands of a sadistic tormentor is more disgusting than terrifying. Don't want to say more, as I would give something away, I am sure.

Not great, like I said, but better than a lot of films I have seen. Not for the squeamish, however.

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