http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455407/

THE CRAZIES delivered some fantastic scares, fun thrills and took the original to new heights! Now, don’t get me wrong – I really enjoyed the original. But, the old school pace and budget made it challenging to watch at times. This revamp of the original amps things up to 11 and grabs you right out of the gate.

Minutes in, the movie takes it’s first turns for the horrid with the baseball scene shown in the trailer. It cuts the buildup short and it works perfectly. No need to get an overabundance of backstory here – we all know where we’re going!  Shaken and tossed around like rag dolls, the audience yelped and squealed at all the right moments. It was a relentless thrill ride that I was very happy with start to finish.

Before we go any further – we’re not dealing with zombies here. It’s a recent development. The non-zombie zombie film. 28 Days Later faced the same issues. People complained about running zombies and the like. Well, just like in that case, these are not zombies we’re talking about. It’s a viral issue. I’m a huge zombie fan, but I know the difference between the sick and the dead. The movie is called THE CRAZIES, not the zombies.

People are doing very bad, very odd things. Things they REALLY should not do. And yes, the government is up to some shenanigans…again. Is it a new plot? Oh, hellz no! However, here it’s all about execution.  Proper pacing and acting make this movie enjoyable and fun. It’s a creepy action/horror film that delivers the fun scares that seem to be lacking in many films – especially remakes – these days.

Grab some friends, popcorn and a soda, and enjoy!

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Give amore eroma’s movie lists and recommendations a try!

Chris Columbus puts down the Potter books and moves to another book based film. Riding on the Potter Twilight book-movie money train,  PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS managed to entertain immensely. The main difference between what I’ve seen with the Potter and Twilight franchises is no downtime lag in story and pace. This movie rolled along extremely well with fantastic roller coaster action and a fun storyline.

As a mythology fan, this movie hit all the right marks. Monster battles, heroes and magic are in full effect and roll from scene to scene with a lovely, “popcorn movie” comfort that made me very happy. I moved from scene to scene chuckling and giggling and happy with the experience.  While created for the “tween set”, it provided many wondrous moments for a more adult audience as well.

There were some fun performances turned in by Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Rosario Dawson and Steve Coogan that made the rest of the relatively unknown cast’s performances shine a bit more than they would on their own. It’s probably hard to phone in a performance when acting against the likes of Pierce Brosnan.

My son pointed out that the movie wasn’t spot on with the books -  http://www.percyjacksonbooks.com/ – but that is the way of most book to movie situations. It’s difficult to pack a book world into a movie world.

Families with younger children should be weary of the films action and monsters. There are many in your face monster moments that can shock a more sensitive child. However, in today’s world, most of what’s seen on screen is par for the course for a lot of children.

Adults with adult ideals and locked minds need not bother with this movie, but if you’re an adult with an inner spark of child left in you, you might enjoy the wonders that this movie provides. Good clean fun.

Our music correspondent Indigo T.J. found this little nugget of a band for us. Initially formed to make background music for haunted houses (odd), CHAIRLIFT scored the “cool factor” by being picked for an iPod commercial, which automatically boosts groups into momentary stardom. What they do with it after that is up to them.
Bruises warrants being used for a commercial. It has a fun little hood and strange lyrics that has one doing the “what the heck is that”, dog sideways head turn when you listen to them. Chairlift has a Euro quality to them that is fun and interesting with a sound quality that doesn’t intrude on whatever you’re doing while you listen to them.
Well worth a listen, Chairlift is idea for a lovely drive through some sort of landscape – real or imagined.

Bruises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmyuRLFDobw

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172994/

This movie has been bantered about as the new Rosemary’s Baby for our set. A masterwork of of horror. Amazing…shocking…mind blowing…

Yeah.

I wanted to see this film before the hype smashed it into oblivion and before any spoilers ruined whatever surprises the movie might be able to deliver. Well worth a viewing, HOUSE OF THE DEVIL does provide a fun experience for horror lovers.

HOUSE is set in the 80s and has an 80s look and feel that is truly amazing without being too gimic ridden. If no one told me it was a new film, I’d assume it was an 80s film. The pace of the story is slow and methodical and building. It crawls, then walks, then runs like a cheetah towards the end. They even manage to slip in a lovely 80s montage scene to the tune of One Thing Leads to Another by The Fixx that worked like a charm!

The micro cast turns in a grand set of performances that really solidifies the story. The director – Ti West – works with a lock down camera from time to time and just lets the tension build to terrible heights without resorting to silly shocks and scares. What’s not seen adds as much if not more to the tension created by what you see. It does not force feed the view shocks.

The resolution worked and I remember nodding and smiling – seeing that the film did push some good buttons. As I sat with the film, it went from a B+ to a solid A as some of the scenes and story twists settled in and made me wince a little.

A solid and fun scare fest that doesn’t hit today’s “torture fest”, dumb terror.

LITTLE DRAGON is a dream turned into song. The music colors a slow, soft fabric of easiness that is ideal for reading a book on a rainy afternoon. Steering away from the trip hop tech, the Swedish band is braced up against the vocals belted out by lead singer Yukimi Nagano. She croons and swoons like a siren leading you to the pillow-soft rocks on the shores of Coolsvillia!

I’m sorry if this seems like it’s driven by chemical alteration. It’s really not. It’s driven by the amazingly smooth sound stylings of this amazing, mellow, and ultra chill group.

Their self titled “Little Dragon” CD of 2007 was followed up with “Machine Dreams” in 2009.

Blinking Pigs – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQThiJjIT8A
Twice – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yedD4JsZyT0

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

In today’s big budget, over the top, billion dollar bonanza movie world, it’s nice to see a smaller range movie do so well with critics and at the box office without turning to art house ideals or “mumblecore” antics.

MOON stars Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, the lone occupant of a moon based fuel mining station. Kevin Spacey voices the station’s computer. While Duncan Jones’ film almost reads as a play, it never drags and manages to serve up some truly amazing elements that make it one of the best science fiction efforts I’ve seen in a long while.

There is a realism in the film that hurts at times. It’s painful to see the loneliness that Rockwell brings to the screen. Rockwell and Spacey deliver top notch performances and the script is absolutely fantastic. The film delivers on all fronts without jumping to action cliche’ and is a must see for science fiction fans as well as fans of high end drama.

The movie’s effects were grand as well, even on their lower budget. There’s just enough to them to keep the films realism intact. Watching the DVD extras was enlightening. There were effects in the movie that were seamless and transparent to the viewer.

A must see. Do yourself a favor – don’t find out too much about the film before seeing it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060522/

This film was a delight. Now, don’t bother watching it if you don’t find films of the 60s endearing and sweet and fun – you will not enjoy this film. However, for those like me who love the films of this era, HOW TO STEAL A MILLION was a fun vacation from the hustle and bustle of some of todays cinematic efforts.

A classic robbery film, MILLION doesn’t have blood, swearing or ladies running around in their panties or less to serve the masses the naked bits they crave. This film features two of the most charming stars of the time (or any time!)  – Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole – going on an adventure that had me giggling and cooing all along the way to it’s deliciously syrup sweet ending.

No special effects. No high tech gadgets. Just the two charmers conceiving and executing a plot to steal a statue back from a museum. The story was fun with a wide array of colorful characters and a pace that was great considering some of the films of the 60s  ran like watching paint dry.

The quick, clever and cute dialog is fantastic and the demure Audrey proves that you don’t have to be naked to be sexy, strong funny and charming.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072890/

I think we’ve all had one of those days. Those days we wish we didn’t get up and out of bed to venture into the cold light of day. Well, Al Pacino and John Cazale are having one of those days in DOG DAY AFTERNOON and it’s just going to get worse.

Sonny and Sal are going to rob a bank. It seems easy enough – they have guns, a plan of action, and a fool proof scheme to get in and out without hurting a soul. Of course, that all goes right out the window in the first five minutes of the film. Sal and Sonny are left to their own devices to extricate themselves from the bank…now surrounded by half of the NYC police department.

The 1970’s pacing helps to create a massive amount of tension.  Pre-screaming Pacino delivers his usual amazing performance as we, he viewers, watch him try to sort out the situation, keep his somewhat nutty partner under control, and keep Det. Sgt. Eugene Moretti ( Charles Durning ) at bay.

You can feel the heat. Feel the fear. Feel the pressure.
This is a classic siege movie.