Holy Moses, I'm really getting my money's worth with the on-line movie rental club!

Another week done, another cigar smoked and another blog posted.

Even though I'm filled with meat, cheese and beer from the night before (Thanks, Iris and Roberto!), let's get right on into more of my mindless movie reviews, shall we? There's a bunch of 'em. Here goes....

Seraphim Falls - This was a real treat that I wasn't expecting. Though not as fast paced as most Western thrillers, this little beauty delivered on a few levels. First the performances by leads Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson are top notch. Though, there is not all that much dialog in the film, they both exude the trials, anger, frustration and desperation of the situation that their characters have put themselves in. What action there is in the movie is pretty cool and brutal. Another plus is that it's always great to see actor, Michael Wincott perform. I've loved watching him since he played main baddie, Top Dollar in The Crow. This is a very decent post Civil War, cat and mouse, Western thriller where themes of guilt, revenge, retribution and forgiveness really shine through. Definitely a DVD to pick up at the store.

The Hitcher (2007 remake) - One cannot help but compare and contrast with the original 1980's road thriller that stared the always spooky Rutger Hauer as the vile and dangerous psychopath who stalks two youths on the barren highways of the west. In the current version Sean Bean portrays the whack job who makes the lives of a college couple a living hell. Now, I love Sean Bean. I find him great in everything he does. And he does and darn good job in this! But, I found Hauer's serial killer slightly more disturbing than Bean's. Bean's killer is certifiably nutters. But, Hauer's killer was balls-out scarier. He really scared the cheese outta me! Bean's character just pissed me off. I really cheered at the end when he got What he got coming! The original was slightly ahead of it's time and led the way for more cat and mouse horror thrillers to plop out onto the screens for the last 20 years. This newer version just follows the trend with slightly more 21st century trappings. But, definitely worth the rental.

Eragon - Have you seen Star Wars? Good. Have you see The Lord of the Rings movies? Good. Have you seen Harry Potter? Good. Guess what, you've seen Eragon. The sword and sorcery fantasy movie revolving around a boy and his dragon delivers nothing new to the genre AT ALL! Everything in this movie has been said and done before. Young farm boy finds that he is destined to be a heroic savior, and with the tutelage of an older, forgotten warrior, he will save the beautiful princess as well as the land from an evil king and his diabolical mage sidekick . It should be mentioned that I did enjoy Robert Carlyle and Jeremy Iron's performances, but its... Been there before-seen it-done it-got the T-shirt-enjoyed Joss Stone's guest appearance. That's about it. Rent it for the kids.

Ok, a couple of horror movies to boot....

House of Wax (2007 remake) - This movie took on the theme of Vincent Price's original, but the story was much more like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The town of wax and wax townsfolk that the killer(s) built was all pretty creepy, but it just dumbed itself down as a typical teenage slasher flick. And as for the teenagers, you'll hate them all for being such a shallow bunch of dolts that you'll feel no remorse when most of them come to violent ends. The best part of this movie is watching Paris Hilton's character get a lead pipe through her head. Otherwise... feh. Not much to write home about. Rent it if you're a die hard horror/slasher movie fanatic. Otherwise, let it lie lifeless as a wax statue.

May - This odd little indie horror movie didn't exactly deliver what I look for in a good horror movie, but it will fill a niche with independent film lovers that have a very high tolerance for lots of character development and dialogue. May is a socially inept young woman with a lazy eye who's only true friend is a spooky doll her overprotective mother gave her as a child. Suffice it to say, she doesn't really deal too well in social situations. Once she starts to get out there in the world and develops a crush on a guy is when things start to go haywire. Even though actress Agela Bettis does an excellent job portraying the odd and awkward May, the movie waits until the very end to bring on the horror and darkness of the story. As viewers, we see small hints of things to come, but we have to wait until the end of the movie for the real frightening stuff. In some horror circles this movie has a decent sized cult following. I guess if you like really dark comedies this might be up your alley. If you're a die hard horror fan, you'll be a bit disappointed. Rent it and decide for yourselves.

Slither - Now this one is the best of the bunch (w/ Seraphim coming a very close second!). What happens to a town of hicks when an alien meteor lands nearby and "bonds" with the local rich A-hole? I'll tell you what happens. A wonderful bunch of sloppy, fleshy, inflated, tentacled, zombiefied, wormy goodness ensues!!! This flick stars fan-boy fave Nathon Fillion (Firefly!) as their local sheriff of a town plagued with alien worms and zombies! Lots of goofy fun gore is present constantly. A good, fun horror comedy! Definitely make time to rent it!


Not too much else going on lately. I'll be seeing Stardust tonight. So, I'll probably have a review of that next time as well as a some more flicks I'm seeing this weekend. So there's that you can wait for with baited breath until next week some time.

I'm off to watch more movies and have some grub.

Zangz.