Arsenic and Old Lace Not Rated

I was blessed with growing up with parents that treasured classic pictures that for the most part were very good in my opinion.  As a result I was a rare person of my age who has known of and appreciates the talents of the film greats including Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, John Wayne, Vincent Price, Audrey Hepburn, Deborah Kerr, Lucille Ball, Maureen O'Hara, etc.  My family also has a love of holidays especially Halloween and Christmas.  This wonderful treat of a picture caters to all of those factors with the added fact of having a great story.

When the film opens, it is  Hallowe'en in Brooklyn NY.  In this film, dramatic critic and author Mortimer Brewster (played by Cary Grant) who is publicly and infamously against marriage has just married his sweetheart Elaine Harper (played by Priscilla Lane).  Before going on their honeymoon, the couple drop by Mortimer's childhood home where most of his family live including his two beloved aunts Aunt Abby (played by Josephine Hull)  and Aunt Martha (played by Jean Adair) and his brother Teddy (played by John Alexander).  Incidentally Teddy thinks that he is Theodore Roosevelt and his family is accepting of this and "plays along" so to speak.

Elaine incidentally lives with her father next door to the Brewster family home and part of the reason for the couple to swing by is to also let Reverend Harper (played by Grant Mitchell) know about the nuptials.  Elaine leaves Mortimer to pack up her things and change her clothes to leave for their honeymoon.

Prior to Mortimer and Elaine dropping by, Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha have a strange conversation that hints about something in the window seat that Aunt Abby wants to show Aunt Martha.  Before Aunt Abby is able to show Aunt Martha what was in the window seat, Elaine interrupts with a mysterious hint of her marriage to Mortimer.  After Mortimer comes inside the house and happily announces his marriage, Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha joyfully talk with him about celebrating his marriage to Elaine by baking a cake before the happy couple go on honeymoon.

After Aunt Abby mentions the Reverend Harper's visit and his subsequent criticism of Mortimer's public outspoken attitude against marriage.  Mortimer immediately talks about burning his books and goes on a search through the house to find his books.  While searching for his books, Mortimer first comes across a childhood picture of his older brother Jonathan who is hinted at being a disturbed and vicious child.  Mortimer and Aunt Abby both shudder with remembrance of life with Jonathan.  Then Aunt Abby goes into the kitchen leaving Mortimer to finish searching for his books alone.  While continuing his search Mortimer comes across the body of a dead man in the window seat in the living room.

Mortimer is shocked and horrified and barely notices his two aunts entering the room to throw rice at him in celebration of his marriage.  Mortimer initially suspects his brother Teddy of murdering the gentleman.  The truth was more shocking as it turns out.  The murderer of the gentleman is his own beloved Aunt Abby.  Further Aunt Martha is Aunt Abby's willing accomplice in other murders of older gentlemen.  Teddy is also involved as he buries the "yellow fever" victims in "Panama" aka the cellar.

So we have a dark comedy with poor Mortimer trying to deal with his murderous aunts, his crazy brother Teddy, his crazy murderous brother Jonathan (played by Raymond Massey) all while trying to keep the murders quiet and in the hubbub dealing with his new bride and trying not to lose his mind.

Surprises come out. Hilarious hijinks ensue.  It has comedy both physical and otherwise.  The whole cast is great. The story is great. It's a great family movie despite the dark subject matter because it is so subtly handled that kids won't notice what's really going on until they get older and watch it again.  It's surprisingly quotable. A wonderful film for any time of the year but particularly if you want a break from the usual gore/horror that comes from Halloween.

Driving Lessons rated PG-13 for language, sexual content, and some thematic material

I saw the cover of this film and I had a feeling that I would at least like this picture.  I wasn't wrong.

This picture tells of Ben (played by Rupert Grint) a shy teenage boy struggling under the pressure and influence of his domineering mother Laura (played by Laura Linney).  His long-suffering father Robert (played by Nicholas Farrell) is the vicar.  Laura projects an air of perfection regarding her life and her family to the community.

Ben tries to express himself through his poetry but finds that he isn't heard much less understood.  He gets a part time job helping a retired actress Dame Evie (played by Julie Walters) around the house.  He is also attempting to get driving experience to get his license.

Evie turns out to be an eccentric lady who pretty much flies by the seat of her pants and takes enjoyment by living in the moment.  She encourages Ben to be himself and to also take enjoyment in living in the moment.  As Ben spends more time around Evie, he grows as a person and finds his voice.

This is a great coming of age story.  The acting is great.  The actors are enjoyable.

Only You rated PG for mild sensuality and language ******Just so you know this post is full of spoilers*****

I came across this movie while flipping channels one day.  I vaguely recalled seeing the cover of the film in video rental places as a younger person.  The plot sounded good so I watched it.

This film starts with a young girl named Faith who plays with a Ouija board with her brother.  After she asks the Ouija board the name of her true love, it spells out the name Damon Bradley.  Shortly afterwards, while visiting a fortune teller at a local fair, young Faith is told by the "gypsy psychic" that she will marry Damon Bradley.

Fast forward about 14 years later and the audience finds that Faith (played by Marisa Tomei) is preparing to get married to her fiancee, a boring podiatrist named Dwayne. Faith's brother Larry (played by Fisher Stevens) has married one of Faith's childhood friends named Kate (played by Bonnie Hunt).  Faith is still deeply in love with the idea of finding true love but she has resigned herself to marrying the more ordinary podiatrist that she likes well enough.

While Faith is trying on her wedding dress, Kate comes over to see the dress.  While Kate is visiting with Faith the phone rings and Faith answers it.  The guy on the other end is Damon Bradley and he tells Faith that he is going to Venice Italy.  Faith immediately leaves the apartment to get to the airport to try to catch up with Damon Bradley.  She is unable to board the plane that Damon Bradley is on because she doesn't have a boarding pass.

Still she is determined to at least catch a glimpse of Damon Bradley as he could be her destiny so she decides to go to Venice.  Kate accompanies Faith to Venice.  After a frantic search and with the help of a local merchant named Giovanni (played by Joaquim de Almeida)  the two women end up following Damon Bradley's trail to Rome.

While in Rome, Faith has a chance to see Damon Bradley at a restaurant.  Things don't go as planned and Faith ends up hurrying to catch up to Damon Bradley.  As it is a crowded on the streets, Faith loses track of Damon Bradley and starts running through the streets to find him.  She accidentally bumps into a stranger (played by Robert Downey Jr.) while running.

The stranger catches up to Faith after she loses her shoe and, while talking with Kate and Faith, the stranger reveals that he is in fact Damon Bradley.  Faith and Damon spend the night together purely enjoying each other's company and clearly very in love.  The following morning Faith tells Damon about her engagement to Dwayne.  Then a twist.  As it turns out the guy claiming to be Damon Bradley is in fact Peter Wright.

Faith understandably gets mad and leaves Peter.  While Faith is stewing and planning on leaving Italy the following day,  Peter talks with Kate and tells her that he is in love with Faith.  Kate reminds Peter that he lied and basically tells him to go on his way.  Meanwhile Kate starts hanging out with Giovanni.  She of course tells Giovanni that she is married and Giovanni seems to be understanding. After Giovanni leaves to Milan, Kate stays outside of the motel room to give Faith time alone and to take time for herself.  Kate reveals to a waiter that her husband Larry is having an affair.

As Kate and Faith are preparing to leave Italy, Peter catches up to them and tells Faith that he has located the real Damon Bradley in a town 3 hours away from Rome. Kate asks Giovanni to take them and the four go on a small road trip to the place where Damon Bradley is supposed to be staying.   Faith is very physically attracted to the "real" Damon Bradley (played by Billy Zane) when she sees him and meets him at the pool.  Faith makes a date with Damon Bradley for that evening and goes to get ready.  Giovanni invites Kate, Faith, Damon, and Peter onto his friend's yacht that evening.

Peter meanwhile is obviously hurting but is putting on a brave front for Faith's happiness. Faith finds that Damon is handsome but not quite what she wants.  After he gets fresh with Faith on the yacht, Peter intercedes and begins to fight with Damon.  It turns out that this "Damon Bradley" isn't real either but was a guy named Harry who was hired by Peter to pretend to be Damon Bradley and to be a jerk with the idea that Faith would come running back to Peter.

While all of this was going on Kate and Giovanni are alone together in a room on the yacht.  Giovanni starts to seduce Kate but Kate gently rejects Giovanni's advances.  Giovanni seems to consider pressing the issue but they are interrupted by the commotion caused by Peter and Harry fighting .

Faith angrily leaves the yacht with Kate.  Afterwards, Faith finds herself very disheartened by everything happening and her resulting feelings.  While Faith and Kate are preparing to leave, Larry shows up to try to win back Kate.  Kate decides to stay in Italy with Larry and Faith goes to return to Pittsburgh.

It turns out that Larry isn't having an affair but that he had simply taken for granted his marriage to Kate.  In the every day shuffle of work and home, he forgot to show his wife how much he loves her.  Further, Larry reveals to Kate that he is the source of the "Damon Bradley" thing.  He was the one who moved the planchette on the Ouija board spelling out Damon Bradley and he paid the gypsy to tell Faith that she would marry Damon Bradley.  Damon Bradley was a kid that Larry knew from school.  Larry had intended the whole thing to be a joke.

While in the airport, both Faith and Peter hear a call overhead for Damon Bradley.  They both run to see him and run into each other.  Peter wants to meet Damon to tell him about the story that Faith told him about Damon Bradley and to tell Damon that he is lucky.  While talking with Damon, Peter reveals to Faith that he is deeply in love with her. After revealing his love for Faith, Peter morosely leaves to his plane to Boston.  Faith is pleasantly stunned by the revelation from Peter and fully accepts that she is in fact very in love with Peter.  She follows Peter to his plane and boards the plane. Peter and Faith embrace, the plane takes off and the film ends.

A perfectly hopelessly romantic film for hopeless romantics like me!

When Marnie Was There rated PG for thematic elements and smoking

This film was recommended to me as I generally a fan of Studio Ghibli films.  I was warned that this one is a little strange and I am grateful for the warning.

This beautiful picture tells of a young girl named Anna (voiced in English by Hailee Steinfeld) who suffers from asthma and is frustrated by her guardian Yoriko (voiced in English by Geena Davis).  Yoriko frequently worries about Anna and expresses her worry in a concerned manner not a nagging manner.  In an effort to show interest, Yoriko regularly asks Anna about her day and her school.  Anna misinterprets Yoriko's attention as more demanding than it truly is and more invasive than it is intended to be. After Anna has yet another asthma attack,  Yoriko reluctantly sends Anna away to the country to visit relatives Setsu Oiwa (voiced in English by Grey Griffin) and Setsu's husband Kiyomasa Oiwa (voiced in English by John C. Reilly) who live near the sea/a large marsh.

The Oiwas' turn out to be rather opposite of Yoriko in that they seem to be less stifling towards Anna and they also seem to be more supportive of Anna.  Anna is at first slightly puzzled by the freedom that she experiences to come and go almost as much as she pleases.  When she returns from her daily adventures she is warmly welcomed and tended to by the Oiwas' without too many questions.  Anna gratefully embraces the "freedom" that she gets with the Oiwas'.

The day after Anna arrives at the Oiwas' house, she views a large mansion sitting alone across from the marsh.  She ventures over by walking across the marsh and finds that the mansion is empty.  She is intrigued by the mansion and decides to sit in the grass for a bit.

After she falls asleep in the yard outside of the house she tries to return the way she had come.  She finds that the tide has come in and she has no way to get across without swimming.  Just as she is presumably about to dive in, a fisherman named Toichi rows to her with his rowboat and takes her back across the water.

Once at the Oiwas' home she finds out that Toichi is a bit a recluse so that it is special that he spent time around her.  She also finds out that the house is called the Marsh house and that it is haunted.

As the summer progresses Anna makes friends with a mysterious young girl named Marnie (voiced in English by Kiernan Shipka and Taylor Autumn Bertman) who lives in the Marsh house.  Marnie demands a promise of secrecy from Anna and Anna agrees.

As Anna and Marnie's friendship grows Anna finds that there is a lot of mystery surrounding Marnie. At times it seems that Marnie might not be real.  Marnie sometimes disappears.  At other times Marnie states that Anna disappears. Anna eventually also makes friends with a little girl who's family owns the Marsh house now and is remodeling the mansion.  After befriending the little girl, Anna finds out more details about Marnie that lead to only more questions.  What is the real story behind Marnie?  Is she real or imaginary?  If Marnie is real why is it that Anna is the only one that seems to see and interact with Marnie?  The answers to these questions are surprising.

Overall the movie was beautiful as is to be expected with Studio Ghibli films.  The story was well written.  Great family film but given some aspects of the story, younger children will probably miss the deeper elements of this film and older children might have questions.

Rollerball (2002) rated R for nudity, language, and violence

This film was recommended then put on for me to watch after a conversation about older movies that deal with similar scenarios/have similar elements.  I had low expectations and I was not disappointed.

This film tells of a young man named Jonathan Cross (played by Chris Klein)  who happens to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie and an athlete of sorts.  While waiting for a chance to sign on with the NHL Jonathan takes part in an illegal race.  While racing, Jonathan's friend Marcus Ridley (played by LL Cool J) helps him get away from the cops.  While helping Jonathan escape Marcus tells Jonathan of an opportunity to play a sport called Rollerball that will pay more money than Jonathan could hope to make playing for the NHL.  After Jonathan tries to return to his house and finds the outside crawling with cops he decides to take Marcus up on his offer.

Fast forward some months and Jonathan is living the dream as the star player of his rollerball team which is comprised of various players from across the world.  I won't get into the details of how the sport works because it is lengthy and I can't remember everything.  Basically the sport has elements of roller derby but players can actually hit each other and use subdual weapons while others take turns throwing a metal ball at a gong to gain points.  This sport is widely followed throughout Asia and the owners of the rollerball teams are trying to get more world wide recognition.

One day Jonathan observes one of his teammates getting deliberately ganged up on and then hit in the face with the metal ball.  No doubt his teammate's skull is fractured and his jaw broken not to mention the loss of teeth.  Jonathan is naturally outraged especially when he finds out that Tobo's helmet chin strap was obviously cut.  Jonathan decides to take his concerns to the owner of his team former KGB Alexis Petrovich (played by Jean Reno).  Alexis seems duly concerned and reassures Jonathan that he will look into it.

Later Jonathan finds evidence that further confirms the attack on his teammate was deliberately staged for ratings but the evidence suggests a more sinister idea that Petrovich is probably responsible for the attack.  Jonathan tells Marcus of his concerns but Marcus puts off Jonathan's concerns to the sport being violent and reassures Jonathan that he has nothing to worry about.

After Marcus witnesses an opposing team sabotaging a motorcycle used by  fellow teammate Aurora  (played by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) nearly resulting in Aurora getting blown up, Marcus begins to believe in Jonathan's concerns and tells Jonathan that they will leave if someone else gets killed or nearly killed.  After Marcus "has an accident" during a match Marcus and Jonathan try to flee with Petrovich, Petrovich's assistant Sanjay (played by Naveen Andrews) and Petrovich's "bodyguards" in close pursuit. Petrovich captures Jonathan and promises him more money if he'll just finish the season.  Jonathan initially refuses Petrovich's demands.  After Sanjay talks to  Jonathan and explains that bad things could happen to his other teammates and reminding Jonathan that he could get more money from Petrovich, Jonathan agrees to play for Petrovich.

The rest of the movie is basically a showdown between Petrovich and his goons and Jonathan and the rest of the Rollerball players.  It was action packed and excitingish.  The movie ended in a satisfactory manner.

This film is a remake of a movie that came out in the 70s also titled Rollerball.  My friends that I watched this version with assure me that the original Rollerball is much better than this one and worth watching.  I'll look into it the first opportunity that I get but for now I can that, as far as this version is concerned, I didn't hate it.  I didn't love it enough to own it but it was better than I thought that it would be (that's not saying much considering that I had low expectations coming into this movie).

Jean Reno was the best actor and his character was the most interesting of this film. Besides Chris Klein's character, all of the other characters and their respective actors were so-so at best.  The story was silly but I got the impression that it was supposed to be silly.  The music in this film was the best part aside from Jean Reno.

Chris Klein's character Jonathan was annoyingly naive at best.  I haven't been outside of this country but it has been drilled into me after hearing from people who have visited other countries and reading about other countries that the fact that one is an American doesn't mean a thing outside of USA.  In fact it seems to be potentially dangerous to admit that one is an American particularly in certain parts of the world.  I guess that Jonathan was meant to be naive but he was kind of ridiculously naive or perhaps ridiculously pretentious.  Either way it was a little silly because you would think that after he has traveled throughout the area that he was traveling and making friends with people from around the world, he would be somewhat aware that just because he is an American doesn't mean that he is "safe" per say.

House on Haunted Hill (1959) Unrated

I grew up watching many older pictures and getting exposed to many of the great Hollywood legends.  Although not necessarily a "Hollywood great", Vincent Price was a particular favorite in my family.  I wasn't afraid of him and neither was anyone else as far as I know.  As I child I was fascinated and as an adult I am still fascinated no matter what I see him in.

This specific gem of a film is famous (or perhaps infamous) for being a "great shocker" from shlock horror great William Castle.  It stars Vincent Price as Frederick Loren, an eccentric millionaire who is willing to pay five people $10,000 each to spend a night in "The House on Haunted Hill".

His wife Annabelle Loren (played by Carol Ohmart) is also along for the ride so to speak.  According to Mr. Loren it was his wife's idea to have the party in the first place.  The five "guests" were chosen by Mr. Loren both because he wanted a varied group of people to be there and they each need the money.  The five "guests" include young test pilot Lance Shroeder (played by Richard Long) , a middle-aged psychiatrist Dr. David Trent (played by Alan Marshal), a young typist who works for Mr. Loren named Nora Manning (played by Carolyn Craig), a middle-aged columnist named Ruth Bridgers (played by Julie Mitchum), and the owner of the house Watson Pritchard  (played by Elisha Cook Jr.).

According to Pritchard, the house is haunted by the ghosts of people who have been murdered in the house.  The murders were all gruesome and unusual.  The angry ghosts apparently want to add to their ranks so that everyone who stays there overnight is in danger.  But there is more to worry about than just ghosts as it turns out.

This film is very good especially for classic horror film lovers.  Vincent Price is as delightful as ever in this picture.  The rest of the cast does well as their respective characters.   If you get the chance I would recommend watching this picture with commentary from former MST3K star and writer Mike Nelson.

Roman Holiday Not rated

I first became interested in seeing this picture after watching the film Only You.  My interest was further piqued by repeated references to this film and repeated praise for this film.

In this film Princess Ann (played by Audrey Hepburn) is on a state visit to Rome.  The state visit to Rome is one of many stops on her tour of Europe.  It seems that she has been stopping at all of the capitals of the European countries, attending various functions, meeting with press, etc.  When the audience meets her in Rome she is exhausted physically and emotionally.  When she reaches a breaking point one night in Rome she is given a sedative and left alone to sleep in her room.  She evades her guards and escapes the palace that she is staying in with the intention of just having some brief time to herself.  Unfortunately the sedative is working well enough that she passes out on the side of the street.

Along comes our handsome hero Joe Bradley (played by Gregory Peck).  Bradley is in fact a reporter for a US affiliated newspaper and is stationed in Rome.  He is surprised to see a mysterious and beautiful young woman who is obviously out of place.  He reluctantly takes her with him with no idea who she is and with every intention of freeing himself from her in the morning.  He is puzzled by her unusual behavior including giving him permission to leave her presence but presumably assumes that her behavior is due to whatever sedative that she is on/possibly drinking.

The following morning, he goes in to his office late.  He was apparently scheduled to attend a press conference in which he would have a chance to interview the young Princess Ann.  After he is informed that the Princess is reported to have taken ill he sees her picture  for the first time.  Imagine his pleasant surprise to see the face of the same lovely young woman whom he knew to be resting in his flat.  He mysteriously promises his editor an exclusive interview with the princess then leaves.

When he returns to his flat,  Ann is still sleeping.  After she wakes up, she understandably lies to him and tells him that she is a schoolgirl who has escaped the confines of her academy.  Further she reveals that she has no money and that she needs to get back to school.  Bradley naturally goes along with her story, expresses understanding, then lends her some money to help her get home.  After a quick goodbye she leaves.  Unbeknownst to her, Bradley shadows her after contacting his photographer friend and colleague Irving Radovich (played by Eddie Albert).

After Bradley "happens to run into" Ann again he persuades her to spend the day with him having her wishes granted including having lunch at a street cafe, going dancing, etc.  Prior to being reunited with Bradley, Ann has had her hair cut to help avoid detection by her people who were undoubtedly looking for her.  While at the street cafe, Irving catches up to Bradley.  Irving almost ruins Bradley's plan for the exclusive by nearly positively identifying Ann as the princess.  Bradley manages to discreetly let Irving in on his plan.  Thus Irving spends part of the day trailing Bradley and discreetly taking pictures of Ann and spends the other part of his day physically with Bradley and Ann.

Ann finds herself having the time of her life as she and Bradley get into various scrapes and experience various escapades.  Meanwhile the palace sends a small army of body guards to retrieve Ann before anyone finds out the princess isn't sick but is in fact missing. Obviously Ann has no idea and never suspects that she is traveling with a reporter and photographer.  Still as the day progresses, Ann and Bradley find themselves falling for each other.

So the questions come.  Will Ann find out the truth about Bradley and Irving?  What will Ann do if she finds out the truth about Bradley and Irving?  Will someone recognize Ann resulting in Ann being seized by her palace body guards and being more immediately returned to the palace before her wishes are granted?  Will Bradley and Ann end up together?  Will Bradley go through with his plan for an exclusive?

All in all this is a great film and I completely understand why it is considered a much beloved classic.  Audrey Hepburn is adorable as the spunky Princess Ann.  Gregory Peck is an excellent dashing hero.  Eddie Albert is hilarious as Irving.

Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension rated R for language and some horror violence

I wasn't excited to see this film for a few reasons.  A.) I was very disappointed with the Paranormal Activity film that preceded this one.  B.)  I wasn't very interested in "seeing" the activity.  C.)  It was yet another found footage film.  Not only have audiences been inundated with found footage films but I felt that this last Paranormal Activity film should be a "proper" film.

This latest film is supposedly the last of the franchise.  Let's hope that the filmmakers who allegedly claim that this is the last of the franchise are telling the truth and that no one attempts to resuscitate the franchise or at least that whoever does a much better job than the current filmmakers and makes an actual good movie.

This movie tells of a family named Fleeges who lives in a huge house and the events take place around Christmas.  The family consists of the dad Ryan (played by Chris J. Murray), the mom Emily (played by Brit  Shaw), and their daughter Leila (played by Ivy George).  As it is Christmas time they have a visit from family in the form of Uncle Mike (played by Dan Gill)  who is the brother of Ryan.  For unexplained reasons there is also another young woman named Skyler (played by Olivia Taylor Dudley)  who might be staying with them for unknown reasons but who also might be just a friend who visits the family.  Not sure why she is here which is off putting at best.

Strange things start happening after Ryan finds a strange looking old style camcorder camera that has obviously been adjusted but why isn't apparent at first.  The strange things include strange sights that are only seen through the camera.  The strange sights evolve to strange happenings that seem to revolve around Leila.  For those familiar with the franchise we once again encounter Toby the demon (which isn't a bad thing necessarily.  At least it has continuity if you ignore The Marked Ones.)

The strange things get more frightening once Toby is spotted.  The family tries their best to fight Toby and protect Leila.  While doing research about the strange happenings Ryan and Mike find out that there are similarites and elements attached to other events that have happened with other families (basically references to the previous Paranormal Activity movies including a vague reference to The Marked Ones.)

This film is like other found footage films in that the camera is jumpy and usually first person pov.  This Paranormal Activity film is more first person pov than the others for some reason.  I guess it was an effort to bring the audience into the film more.  If you are bothered by found footage films, avoid this one.

The story was pretty good at first.  The characters were good.  I was really confused by Skyler's presence.  The only reason that I can imagine why she is in this picture is to have a blonde cute girl for people to look at.  The actress wasn't bad but she wasn't great.  Her character being all excited about the haunting activity was annoying at best.

I know that this is just a movie but I am bothered by inconsistencies in the film.  While Leila is possessed/oppressed by the demon she is doing things like burying rosaries and attempting to burn a bible.  Both of these actions imply that the family has enough faith in God for "Toby" to be worried enough to remove those items thereby crippling the family's efforts at resisting Toby/fighting Toby.  Later the family calls in a priest who says that he doesn't believe that an exorcism is necessary.  He further ludicrously adds that there will be an extermination of the demon.

First off, the priest wouldn't be so stupid as to avoid an exorcism.  An average person would probably wisely first assume an exorcism would be needed in this case.  A trained priest, after hearing a description of what Leila is doing coupled with actually getting physically attacked by Leila would know that an exorcism is absolutely necessary and there is no other option.

Also, if the family had such faith in God, the exorcism (because that's what it basically ended up being) would have worked at least long enough for the family to feel safe.  If the exorcism didn't completely send Toby back to where he came from then it would have at least weakened him enough.  In other words, Toby wouldn't have been able to kill anyone much less possess anyone to cause them to kill someone else.

Thirdly,  why would an immortal creature want to be in a human body that is dying?  You're talking about a creature that has no physical limits who has been around for millenia deliberately trapping itself in a human body that will die and that is for all intents and purposes dying.  That just doesn't make any sense on any level.

I'm guessing that the filmmakers thought that this would be a better ending, a kind of "the bad guy" wins ending.  The problem was that "the bad guy wins" ending has been poorly overdone over the last few years.  Also the ending just wasn't good because it's stupid.

Ghostbusters rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and terror, including horror images and some scary situations/peril, language, crude humor, brief suggestive content, and partial nudity

I vividly remember watching this film as a child and being frightened at times but overall enjoying this film.  I didn't understand the more subtle aspects of the film including the suggestive humor.

This film tells of three scientists Dr. Raymond Stantz (played by Dan Aykroyd), Dr. Peter Venkman (played by Bill Murray) and Dr. Egon Spengler (played by Harold Ramis)  who study the paranormal/occult at a NYC college and their adventures.  After getting kicked out of the college, they go into business as ghostbusters capturing ghosts around New York City.  They hire a bookish secretary named Janine Melnitz (played by Annie Potts).

After going into business the ghostbusters encounter two people Dana Barrett (played by Sigourney Weaver) and Louis Tully (played by Rick Moranis) who both live in an unusual high rise.  Dana seeks out the help of the ghostbusters after experiencing frightening things in her apartment.  Louis is Dana's nearby neighbor who gets caught up in the strange and scary occurrences.

Around the time that the three original ghostbusters meet Dana, they decide to hire a fourth person to help with the pick up in hours.  The fourth guy is named Winston Zeddmore (played by Ernie Hudson) .  The ghostbusters unintentionally run afoul of a man named Peck (played byWilliam Atherton) who works for the EPA which is the catalyst to the exciting final showdown between the ghostbusters and an ancient Sumerian god named Gozer (played by Slavitza Jovan).

I loved this film as a child and I love it more as an adult.  The story is well written.  The jokes are hilarious.  The characters are beloved with good reason.  The special effects aren't the greatest but they have stood the test of time fairly well.

This film is a little funnier when watched in a more censored format i.e. on cable tv networks.  I particularly enjoy and have enjoyed for years the efforts at cable networks to censor the scene where the ghostbusters are first meeting with the mayor and Venkman tells the mayor that Peck has no dick.  There were initial efforts at either dubbing different words which clearly didn't match the mouth movements of Venkman to not showing Venkman talking at all which makes it look like Peck attacks Venkman for no reason to finally adjusting the scene entirely to where it appears that Venkman says that Peck is "some kind of animal I don't know which" which is where the scene resumes its original structure/format.

Overall this film is a great family film.  I don't know why anyone thought that remaking this picture was a remotely good idea much less actually following through with it.

Brave rated PG

This film was one of those pictures that had a trailer that didn't really explain what the film was about but was intriguing enough to generate interest.  It was also one of those movies, that despite the lack of details about the film, I knew I would love it.  I wasn't wrong.

This film tells of a brave Scottish princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) and her efforts to live her life as she will despite the expectations and restrictions that come with being a princess.  She lives with her parents Fergus (voiced by Billy Connolly),  Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), and her young triplet brothers.

Her father Fergus seems to be more tolerant/indulgent of Merida and her loves of riding her horse Angus and archery.  Elinor is very loving towards her daughter but she is also trying to instill in her the abilities and things that go with being a princess and that will carry over to her eventual being a queen.  In typical teenage fashion Merida only sees her mother's efforts as hampering and she is frustrated by her seeming "inability" to measure up to her mother's "demands".

Merida gets particularly angry after learning that three powerful Scottish lords are coming to present their sons as suitors to vie for Merida's hand in marriage.  At the competition Merida unintentionally embarrasses her parents and the Scottish lords and their sons during the competition.

In a fit of anger Merida causes a breach in her family.  In a reciprocal fit of anger Elinor lashes out at Merida and emotionally wounds Merida.  Merida flees into the forest and is guided by the will-o'-the-wisps to what initially appears as a solution to her problem and a way for Merida to change her fate.

After returning to the castle with the solution, Merida attempts to change her fate with unexpected and disastrous results.  With help from Elinor and her brothers and her own determination, Merida must succeed at righting the wrongs that she has committed and she must do so before the second sunrise.

This film is wonderful.  The animation is stunningly gorgeous.  This film is full of much loved British actors and actresses.  Besides the main cast there are Craig Ferguson, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Waters.   The story was very well written and not typical of a "Disney Princess" story but that's all the more reason to love this picture.  The characters were all lovable and relatable.  While you might not agree with their actions you at least understand where the characters are coming from.

In a time that seems rather full of sanctimonious pretentious behavior "everywhere", I love that Disney is making more of their pictures and doing it well.  It seems that it used to be that Disney was really great at animation and pretty good with story which isn't bad at all.  I just think that it is wonderful that Disney is more seamlessly addressing "real life problems" in a more realistic way than might be expected.

This film at its core deals with issues like expectations that parents can put on their children, children's inability to understand that their parents simply want the best of them partly because parents' not fully explaining to their children and also because children don't always listen to their parents, following your heart and accepting yourself despite facing opposition, etc.   I especially love that this film is a "mother-daughter" story.

I find it interesting that this film generated some controversy regarding Merida.  For some reason, some focused on the fact that Merida doesn't have a prince and in fact seems to refuse her potential suitors and twisted that to mean that Merida is a lesbian.  While there would be nothing wrong with that in my opinion, I am bothered that Merida's not wanting to be married is immediately labeled as lesbianism.

I am bothered because this is a very black and white view that does a disservice not just to the movie but to people in general.  Just because someone isn't married or isn't ready to be married or isn't interested in getting married has nothing to do with someone's sexuality and it is ridiculous and hurtful to stereotype people or films by making assumptions.

In the film itself Merida states that she feels that she is too young to be married, that she is in fact not ready to be married yet.  So it sounds to me that Merida is simply acknowledging that she is young and not ready to be married yet not that she is actually against marrying anyone much less her potential suitors.

Further Merida actually appears to be physically attracted to the large "handsome" guy who is standing in front of Wee Dingwall when Lord Dingwall is introducing his son.  She perks up and openly stares at him as Lord Dingwall is talking and immediately deflates when it is revealed that the guy that Merida is oogling is not Wee Dingwall.  Also while Merida doesn't seem to be physically attracted to her potential suitors, she is obviously receptive to the potential suitors making an effort to win her hand rather than winning her hand in a competition.

I sincerely hope that I haven't offended anyone with my views and observations.  If you were offended I apologize.

There has been talk among people that there may be a sequel to Brave.  I must say that I don't have a lot of faith at present in the execution of a sequel to Brave.  What would be the storyline?  What would be the conflict?  I frankly feel that the end of the film Brave was excellent and doesn't warrant a sequel.  I'm not particularly keen to see the three suitors of Merida trying to win her heart.  I guess time will tell.

'71 rated R for strong violence, language, and disturbing images throughout

I came across this film while flipping channels one day.  The plot sounded interesting so I watched it.  I wasn't disappointed.

In this picture, a young English soldier Gary Hook (played by Jack O'Connell) gets accidentally left behind by his unit when a riot breaks out while he is on patrol with his unit in Belfast in 1971.  After one of his fellow soldiers gets killed during the riot, Hook literally runs for his life through the streets of Belfast.  His unit quickly becomes aware of his absence and tries to find him.  As Hook tries to survive the night in Belfast he meets locals some sympathetic but mostly he is surrounded by understandably angry and resentful locals.  As the film plays out it becomes apparent that those whom he might assume are friends are in fact foes and foes may at least be helpful towards him.  Hook also finds that people who help him inevitably end up in harm's way.

The film was just excellent.  The actors were all amazing.  The story was very well written and executed.  There were quite a few twists and turns.  The tension that builds up throughout the film is intense with the audience wondering just how is this going to play out all the way to the end.  This is one of those pictures that takes off running and doesn't stop and not just because our protagonist literally runs in this picture.

The film presented food for thought in the form of an up close perspective of life in Belfast in the troubled times of the past.  Not surprisingly the locals are portrayed as people who simply want to be left alone to live in peace and are moved to violence after being pushed around.  No this doesn't excuse their actions but at least one can understand more of where they are coming from.

The cinematography of this film was brilliant.  You run right alongside Hook when he is running.  You're right there with the people who help Hook and the people who hunt Hook.  The visuals in this film are wonderfully paired with music that adds just the right touch to the feel of the movie.

I've seen this film listed as "extraordinary" and "underrated" and I very much agree with both descriptions.  If you get the chance this film is so worth watching.

The Fog (2005) rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images, and brief sexuality

I watched this film after watching the original version of The Fog.  I had high hopes that this this movie would at least be good if not great.  I was disappointed.

Like the original version of The Fog this movie follows the story of a small town named Antonio Bay this time located on the coast of Oregon as opposed to California.  As this is a more "modern" take on the original film the event that happen in this film coincide with the unveiling of a statue celebrating the town's founders as opposed to the centennial of the founding of the town.  Elizabeth (played by Maggie Grace) is in fact a resident of Antonio Bay it's just that she has spent time living outside of the town.   Elizabeth's boyfriend Nick (played by Tom Welling) is a resident as well and owns the boat the Seagrass (just as in the original picture).

After returning to Antonio Bay, Elizabeth is inexplicably afflicted with fainting spells that manifest very inconveniently to her but  conveniently for the plot.  As a result of her fainting spells, she finds the diary of one of the founding fathers named Malone and thus finds out that Antonio Bay was started with blood money from a leper colony.

The leader of the leper colony named Blake had attempted to purchase an area near Antonio Bay for his people to live in peace.  The founding fathers were bothered by the thought of a leper colony being "so close" to Antonio Bay and so they had locked the lepers on their ship and stolen their money and possessions.  The ship wrecked off of the coast  and there were no survivors.

Elizabeth is horrified and tries to tell her boyfriend Nick about the diary.  He doesn't seem to care because he is preoccupied with strange events including mysterious deaths and an unnatural fog.  Elizabeth's fainting spells don't seem to disturb Nick in the least but that is probably because he seems to be unaware given the other events happening.

And so we have the continuation of similarities to the original film in that we have a small group of residents desperately trying to survive the night.  This picture takes a turn in Elizabeth in more ways than previously mentioned.  As it turns out she is apparently the reincarnated wife of Blake or at least that's what she believes.  Oddly enough she doesn't seem to be the least bit disturbed by this.  I should have guessed that she doesn't really care for her boyfriend as evidenced by her previously leaving Antonio Bay for about six months and her seeming negative attitude about returning until she finds out that she is Blake's reincarnated wife.  Whatever.  The film ends with her joyfully being reunited with Blake (which is great for her and Blake but what about Nick?)

All in all this film was disappointing at best.  The cast wasn't horrible but they weren't as good as the original cast.  The plot was not good.  The fainting spells plot device was annoying at best.  There were some decent special effects but nothing particularly special.  It just felt like this film missed the point of the original film.  At least there wasn't boasting that their film was so much better than the original unlike some other remakes.

The Fog (1980) rated R for violence, mild language, and horror

This film was listed on one of the lists of "scariest pictures" that I have previously referenced and so I watched it.

This movie tells of events that happen in a town in California called Antonio Bay on the 100th anniversary of the founding of Antonio Bay.  It opens with a ghost story telling of a shipwreck that happened approx 100 years ago when Antonio Bay was founded.  The film continues with strange events including a fog that seems to move against the wind.  As it turns out the fog contains evil ghosts from Antonio Bay's past that terrorize and kill some of the residents of Antonio Bay.  It falls to a small group of residents (and one person passing through) to try to hold out and survive the night of horror.

This film is one of the many great John Carpenter/Debra Hill pictures.  The story is excellent.  The actors are all great.  The special effects haven't completely stood the test of time but they are still great as far as I am concerned. If you are a horror fan, this is a classic film that really shouldn't be missed.  Just make sure that you watch this version rather than the 2005 version.

Trading Places rated R for language, content, nudity/sexuality, and drug use

I was aware of this film from the reference made to this film in Coming to America but I hadn't watched it until recently.  A friend of mine was "horrified" that I hadn't seen this film and yet I am fairly familiar with Coming to America so he put it on for me.

A young businessman named Louis Winthrope III (played by Dan Aykroyd) works for two elderly millionaire brothers named Duke and Duke (played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche).  While conducting business Louis bumps into Billy Ray Valentine (played by Eddie Murphy) and immediately assumes that Billy Ray is attempting to rob him of his briefcase.  Despite Billy Ray's efforts at first reassuring then walking away from Louis, Billy Ray is arrested for theft.

When the Duke brothers learn of this, they make a bet of $1 that if they "ruin" Louis thereby forcing him out of his life of luxury and into Billy Ray's "life of crime" that Louis will "give into baser instincts and go to a life of crime" and that Billy Ray will "relinquish his life of crime and better himself".  The Duke brothers then follow through with their plan and bring Billy Ray into Louis' job and home and cause Louis to end up on the streets.

After some high-jinks it seems that their bet comes true.  Unfortunately for them Billy Ray finds out about their bet and lets Louis know about it.  Thus Louis and Billy Ray plan revenge.

This film definitely isn't for children for a number of reasons.  However it is very funny.  I understand why this film is considered one of the greatest comedies of all time.  The acting was great.  The story was great.  The characters were all memorable.  I don't think that this film could be made today given some of the "dicey" aspects of this film.  There are certain things that are said and done that were allowed in films back then but in this super "pc" world it just wouldn't work.  Still a definite gem in comedy and definitely worth watching.

Oldboy (2003) rated R for language, sexual content, violence, nudity, and scenes of torture

I watched this film because it was included in a list of "scariest films".  To an extent I was warned about this film by the panel of commentators but I still watched it.

A seemingly average guy named Dae-Su Oh (played by Min-sik Choi) gets kidnapped and held prisoner in a room for 15 years without any explanation given.  He is fed and pretty well kept although he has no communication from/with anyone.  One day, he is released with money, a cell phone, and expensive clothes.  He spends the film trying to find out why he was held prisoner and by whom.  Along the way he meets a young woman named Mi-do (played by Hye-jeong Kang) who tries to help him and whom he develops a relationship with.

This film is understandably highly regarded and highly recommended by quite a few people.  It is technically a very good film.  The acting is excellent, the story is excellent, the amazing hallway fight scene is beyond words.

A word of warning though.  This film is very disturbing and definitely isn't for the faint of heart.  Its "horror", rather the reason why it was included on a list of best horror films isn't classic horror involving monsters or axe murderers.  This horror is much more psychological.  I won't spoil the horror because I do think that that would be unfair.  However, if you are that curious, I'm certain that you can research what the "twist" of this picture is and find copious spoilers.

Prom Night (1980) rated R for violence, brief nudity, language, and frightening content

I was curious about this film for some time and finally indulged in watching it after my sister purchased it.

This film opens with four kids Kelly, Jude, Wendy,  and Nick playing in an abandoned school building.  A fifth child, a little girl named Robin decides to join in their game.  The four gang up on her and corner her in front of a large window.  They get so caught up in their game that they don't realize how close Robin is to the window.  Robin gets so scared by the kids and their game that she tries to get away and ends up falling out of the window.  The four kids get scared that they will go to jail so they vow to keep what happened a secret.

Six years later it is the day of the prom.  The four kids are now high school seniors.  Robin's older sister Kim (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) is the prom queen and she is dating Nick who will be crowned prom queen.

Apparently Kelly used to date Nick but Nick broke it off with Kelly to be with Kim.  Kelly decides to win Nick back by physically separating Kim from Nick and keeping them separate by using a bully who likes Kim.

Jude is struggling with being pressured to have sex with her boyfriend.  She is receiving pressure from both her friends and her boyfriend.

Wendy is initially struggling with not having a date to the prom.

A masked person (evidently the killer in this picture) attempts to call all the four teens involved in Robin's accidental death.  The killer is able to speak to Jude and Wendy but the other two miss his calls.  The masked killer then leaves the cut up yearbook photos of the three girls in their respective lockers.

The prom begins and the killing begins culminating in the "dramatic" reveal of the killer.  The killer's identity is not surprising nowadays but I'm sure it was something of a surprise when the film was released in 1980.

All in all this film was exactly what it looks and sounds like, a typical teen slasher film.  It's not horrible it's just not great.  The best part for me was Kim's "awesome" dance sequence with  her boyfriend Nick during the prom.  It was quite entertaining.  I was further amused by how long the day was in this picture.