Dancer in the Dark

This is a 2000 musical drama directed by Lars von Trier and starring singer Björk as Selma and Catherine Deneuve as "Cvalda". It is set in the 60's and talks about a woman with a hereditary eye disease which will make her go blind. Her 10-year-old son also has the disease and will suffer the same fate of going blind unless he can get an operation to save his sight. Selma and her son moved to the United States from Czechoslovakia where this operation is possible.

In order to get the money together for her son's eye operation, Selma works, rather clumsily, at a factory. There, she daydreams about musical scenes that begin with sounds of the factory machines. She does this in other places, as well. After Selma breaks a machine, she is let go from the job.

Selma's landlords, Bill and Linda, have financial difficulties. Bill decides to steal the money Selma had been saving up. Selma discovers this and goes to get the money back. In an extremely gut-wrenching scene, Bill asks Selma to take his life. This is the only way for her to get her money back. It can be very uneasy to watch Selma kill Bill.

I do not want to give everything away, but I can say that unfortunately, this movie does not have a happy ending, apart from some hope about Selma's son's sight.

This is one of the most captivating movies I have ever watched. It has a definite depressing quality, but you cannot help but feel for Selma. The musical sequences are absolutely fantastic. Björk herself wrote the music of the soundtrack, but not the lyrics.

Love it or hate it, this movie will be extremely hard to forget.

Mattias

Se7en

Despite earlier problems with Youtube maintenance video is now up.

My Review of Se7en.

-Dane

Lolita (1997 version)

This is a novel-based drama directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jeremy Irons and Dominique Swain.

The movie tells the story of a man who becomes obsessed with a teenage girl who he sees in a house in which he rents a room. He marries the girl's mother so he can see the girl, who he nicknames Lolita. The lady dies and the girl blames the man for her death ('murder me like you murdered my mother!'), because she died shortly after she found out about the guy's attraction to the girl.

The two develop a relationship, but does it last?

I really enjoyed the way this movie was shot. Also, there is quite a lot of intensity and romance in it, which made it captivating.

Mattias

LEON

Léon (also known as The Professional and Léon: The Professional) is a French English -language 1994 action film written and directed by French director Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and a young Natalie Portman in her feature film debut.

"Professional assassin Leon reluctantly takes care of 12-year-old Mathilda, a neighbor whose parents are killed, and teaches her his trade."

I love this movie. I had seen it a while back and had forgot about it and happened to see it again on TV recently.

Reno is a brilliant actor and plays the role perfectly. I had fogotten Portman was in this too. This movie launched her career, and rightfully so. For such a young age she pulls off an amazing, believable performance.

Adding to the powerful perfomance is the always good Gary Oldman.

That is the strength of this movie. On paper the plot seems a bit far fetched but it's the actors who make this movie great. I would credit the director for a lot of that and visually everything flows very well.

As a rental choice this is great for anybody who enjoys good acting. You won't be bored and you'll see a great movie.

By Gerry.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

http://www.myreviews101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/the-curious-case-of


- It took me 3 nights to watch this film -

so yeah, it's very long...

BUT also very good.

- Although it felt like I was watching 3 films in 1 film I must say the makers did a great job in
portaying the life of a man that ages backwards.

The film flashes back and forth from an old lady in a hospital in New Orleans, during the tragic
time of hurricane Katrina, to the life of Benjamin Button.
The link being that the old lady is the woman Benjamin Button spent a great part of his life in
love with. She (Daisy) is spending her last days in hospital with her daughter by her side.
Determined to tell her story, Daisy gives her daughter Benjamin's diary which explains
everything.

The story in itself is quite fascinating. Something I've never seen done before, a man ageing
backwards. The make up for Benjamin's face is extraordinary and the acting by Brad Pitt (BB)
and Cate Blanchett (Daisy) can't be faulted. I would definitely recommend this film for anyone
who wants a good night in and has a lot of time!

Vinny

The Hole

This week I watched The Hole (2001)

Directed by Nick Hamm

Starring Keira Knightly (Frankie) and Thora Birch (Liz) - the little girl in Hocus Pocus all grown up! Desmond Harrington (Mike) and Laurence Fox (Geoff).

Another gorey horror / thriller which by now from previous reviews you know what my favorite film genre is! The film opens with the image of a bloodied girl staggering along a country lane.The lane is covered in bouquets of flowers and missing posters with some of the girls face on them.We quickly find out that she and three other teenagers have been missing for weeks. Liz is in a private English school with an infatuation with Mike the school jock from America. Liz tells her friend a geeky boy called Martin and the two come up with a plan so that Mike will notice Liz. There is an upcoming field trip that no one wants to go on including Mike , Frankie ( the cool girl) and Geoff Frankie's boyfriend who is also Mikes best friend. Martin proposes a plan to Liz that she and the other three stay in an underground bunker until the field trip is over. Stocked with booze , food and bedding Liz , Frankie , Geoff and Mike go in the bunker and Martin locks them in. The three days pass and there is no sign of Martin to let them out. Leaving you think that Martin is spying on them.

Until he is found by the Police and brought in for questioning.This is when the cracks begin to show in Liz's story as there is a twist to the whole plot we have seen so far. Turning it that Liz was also a 'Cool Girl' was best friend with Frankie but like the previous storey had a crush on Mike. With the crush so uncontrollable she locks them into the bunker as each teen dies one by one due to Liz's infatuation.

With superb acting from the four main characters especially Thora Birch which is hard to believe she all grown up since the last time I seen her as a little girl in Hocus Pocus. The film really makes you question the sanity of both main characters and with so many twists even your own! The horror stems from human emotion with each teenager apart from Liz meeting a very nasty bloodied end. The sound is fantastic and very atmospheric especially when one of the bodies in covered in swarming flies.
Watch it , Watch it , Watch it!!!!!!
Until next time Dawn:)

Cabin Fever

This week I have watched Cabin Fever (2002) which I shamefully admit for the 10th time.Its is yet another so bad but yet so good horror film. Directed by Eli Roth who also produced and wrote Cabin Fever.

Starring Jeff (Joey Kern) ,Marcy (Cerina Vincent) , Paul (Rider Strong) and Karen (Jordan Ladd).

Again five unsuspecting teens take of for a weekend in a cabin in the forest unbeknown to them that there is a rotting corpse in the water. Jeff and Marcy are lovers with Paul pining after Marcy it leaves their old friend Bert alone to shoot squirrels. On his shooting trip he meets a tramp who is covered in a rash and appears to have some thing like the Ebola virus instead of helping the tramp Bert shoots at him.Later in the night the tramp appears at the door asking for help and the teens set him on fire sending him into the water reservoir and to his death.

Creepy visitors materialize out of the woods. Another camper, Justin accompanied by a vicious dog he calls Dr. Mambo, offers them marijuana. The dog later returns to the group, who fend him off with gunshots. Then there is Winston , a leering young sheriff's deputy obsessed with partying.

The first teenager to fall ill is Karen, whom the others immediately quarantine by locking her in a shack. The disease eats its victims rapidly from inside out. Lesions are quickly followed by massive hemorrhaging. As one camper after another develops symptoms, the five friends panic and turn on each other.

TRUE horror fans, get this tasty,bloody bit and enjoy!You get gore,guts,a bad dog,a nasty flesh-eating bacteria,hysteria,and even.. pancakes! Don't drink the water people! Although it looks like most of the budget went on the blood it is a very entertaining and enjoyable 90 minutes .

And the good news is there is a part 2 out this summer!!!!!

Until next time

Dawn:)

Rear Window

My review of Rear Window.
Sorry for weeks Absence.

-Dane

My Summer of Love

This is a 2004 British film about two young women who develop a romantic relationship with each other. It stars Emily Blunt and Natalie Press. The two girls are very different from each other and come from different backgrounds and yet they develop a connection. Together they get in trouble as their relationship develops.

One of the girls wants to make her life seem more interesting so she lies about the death of a brother. The other girl finds out about the lie, though I won't ruin the movie and say what happens with that.

I quite enjoyed this movie. It's only about 86 minutes long so I recommend it if you are looking for some movie entertainment for a short while. I would definitely like to watch this movie again sometime. This movie may not change your life but how many really do?

Mattias

Ondine

This is an irish film written and directed Neil Jordan. It's a nice film. It looks nice. The acting is also really good. Where this movie doesn't totally deliver though is in story. It's a bit boring and predictable and when new characters are introduced they don't have a big enough impact to move the story along.

When Vladic comes into the picture you are expecting a huge impact but it never really delivers. I was expecting much more action and drama here. Instead he kind of just fizzles out.

I also don't think the whole lighthouse scene was needed. I think that they could have revealed Ondine's history with a bit more of an impact and played more on Syracuse's drinking demons.

I did enjoy this though. I enjoyed it even though I was only 1 of four people in the whole cinema on it's debut night watching this and they had to restart the movie after 20 minutes because of sound problems. I think I mostly enjoyed it though because it's an irish film and the location looked great. I don't ever see this being a huge film but it's directed well and would make for a pretty safe rental. If anything it shows off Castletownbere as a beautiful coastel irish town, which shows Ireland really has some great locations for movies.

By Gerry.

Adventureland

A 2009 film by the same director as Superbad, Greg Mottola. In the leading roles we see Kristen Stewart, Jesse Eisenberg, Martin Starr and Ryan Reynolds.

This film brings us back to the 80's and into the life of James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg). He has just finished school and has BIG plans for the summer. eg: going to Europe. However his plans are put on hold as his dad, who was originally going to support his trip financially, is demoted and can no longer pay for his son's holiday. James is forced to find a job. After much search he finally lands a job as a games person at the local Adventureland theme park. He makes friends quickly with the likes of Jools (Martin Starr) and Emily (Kristen Stewart), whom he instantly falls for. They start a romance but their individual secrets come out and they are forced to be apart. I'll leave the ending open because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Lets just say, it's kind of predictable.

The film left me with mixed feelings. I was pleased to see the newcomer Jesse Eisenberg play the leading role but I felt like he tried too hard to be another Michael Cera type character. Martin Starr delivered an excellent performance as the intelectual, weed smoking ,nerd friend and will definitily look out for him in other films. I have little praise for the Twilight star Kristen Stewart though. I felt like she jumped straight from Twilight into this film. Like it was Bella's summer vacation. I feel that she is a one character only type of actress and that doesn't impress me.

If I had to rate it, I'd give it a 6/10.

Vinny

Thirteen

This week I went for a classic cult rebellious teen film Thirteen (2003) directed by Catherine Hardwicke (who directed Twilight!) Starring and co-scripted by Nikki Reed (Evie)- who also is Twilight's Rosalie) , Evan Rachel Wood ( Tracey) and Holly Hunter ( Tracey's Mom Melanie).

Tracey moves to Los Anglos with her mother Melanie and brother Mason.
Tracey is a straight A student and writes deep dark poetry. Melanie is a recovering cocaine addict who works as a hairdresser to make ends meat.

Tracey gets teased at school by Evie and her friends about her clothes. Evie gives Tracey a fake phone number as a mean joke. Upset Tracey takes the bus to Melrose place and steals a purse meeting Evie and her friends they spend the stolen money on clothes and shoes. This is when Tracey begins to fall into the wrong company with Evie.

Throughout the film Tracey becomes more and more detached from her mother as she cannot deal with her parents divorce or the fact that her mother has taken back her drug addict ex boyfriend this leads to her cutting herself on numerous occasions. Although Tracey has new found popularity in school due to hanging out with Evie, taking drugs , stealing and sleeping with boys. Although none of this makes her happy. All the time Melanie has no idea what an impact Evie is having on Tracey. Eventually Melanie begins to see the cracks and tries to get Tracey to live with her father but he does not want her sending Tracey deeper and deeper into a depression.

Melanie decides to keep her daughter away from Evie but not before Evie plants drugs all over their house framing Tracey . At school Tracey is not popular any more and is failing 7th grade. She goes home and begins cutting herself , Melanie sees the cuts and begins kissing them holding her daughter as she sobs. It then ends with Tracey on her own in the park spinning around screaming.

This is a very grim film showing all aspects of teen angst. Nikki Reed used it as a sort of autobiography when co writing with Catherine Hardwicke even saying it was just how life was for her when she was 13. It was written in 6 days which I find pretty impressive considering all the detail and content in it. Evan Rachel Wood is believable and incredible in her role as Tracey for some-one of such a young age to be able to convey such emotions which for teenagers nowadays they could relate easily to the pain , frustration and confusion. No longer a kid, not yet an adult. This movie explains it well. Being a teenager isn't all what it's cracked up to be!

Until next time........
**Dawn **

Pictures

A Clockwork Orange

My Review Of Stanley Kubrics A Clockwork Orange.

Enjoy. Dane :]

Ginger Snaps

"Ginger Snaps" is a 2000 Canadian horror movie with the theme of werewolves. It stars Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins as two teenage sisters, Ginger and Brigitte. One of the girls, Ginger, gets bitten by a werewolf, causing her to also become one, slowly but surely. She gets huge scars, starts growing hair and a tail.

Brigitte hears that a silver ring may cure Ginger from becoming a werewolf. She gives her sister a piercing, but it does not work.

Another scene has a girl coming over to the girls' house, accusing Ginger of kidnapping her dog, which she did, and she dies due to a fall during a fight between the girl and Ginger. The girls hide the body. The mother finds the body, however, and says that a new beginning is needed for the family and they have to try to forget about this.

Ginger infects a guy. Brigitte makes another cure with a guy in the hope that Ginger will not infect anyone else and will no longer be a werewolf.

I enjoyed watching this movie, but it is definitely cringe-worthy at times. I recommend it for anyone who wants to get into a relatively simple horror movie.

Mattias


Trailer:

The Number 23

This is a 2007 suspense thriller starring Jim Carrey.

It is about a man who reads a book in which a suicidal blonde calculates things together and comes up with the number 23 constantly. This had caused her to murder her boyfriend and commit suicide. The man also becomes obsessed with the number, making him paranoid.

The man finds about another murder that happened which was almost identical to the murder in the book. These connections he experiences between his life and the book confuse him and almost drive him insane.

This movie captivated me because it is such an interesting idea and it has the potential to really make the viewer wonder. I recommend this movie for an exciting, almost peculiar viewing.

-Mattias

Simon Says

For Blood , Gore and comedy I watched Simon Says (2006) this week.

Directed by William Dear Starring Crispin Glover ( Simon/Stanley) and Margo Harshman ( Margo) and it even has a snippet of Gossip Girls -Blake Lively!Showing on Zone Horror once or twice a week it is a must see if you like good old fashioned gore.

Starting of with 5 unsuspecting students who set out on a camping trip each one stereo typical- a leading lady , a jock who gets his top off a lot, a stoner , a slutty blond and a neurotic Asian girl.Heading to a secluded forest that just spells disaster.They stop at a gas station where we meet the villain of the film Stanley who a decade before killed his twin brother Simon with a rock.Stanley is some what simple but takes an automatic shine to Margo who he calls dream girl.
From there the teens get killed one by one by Stanley who lurks in the forest with lots of weapons such as daggers axes and chainsaws.Following his dream girl who he eventually captures after many chasing scenes through the forest he reveals how he lived in the shadows of Simon and killed his parents because of it.Margo escapes and lands an axe she happened to have handy in Stanley's head but being a horror she look away and when she looks back hes gone!

The one and only time Blake Lively is in the film even though shes mentioned as one of the main cast members (good marketing ploy) is when another group of teens pull up at the gas station and there is Stanley minus the axe!He goes inside the garage when the camping party pull away and removes his cap while looking in the mirror to reveal a long scar in his head and taps on it as we hear a metal sound making you aware that Stanley and Simon are the same person!The gruesome end is the horrific image of Margo 'Dream girl' sitting in filth under the floor boards with twin babies.

Sometimes crappy horror movies can be fun, in a guilty-pleasure, so-bad-it's-good sort of way.And so this is my guilty pleasure I would watch over and over again.Due to the great acting of Crispin Glover who does homicidal maniac so well and maybe with a different director , lighting , different cast members and different editor Stanley's character would have been very interesting rather then just a country hick that enjoys killing. The twist at the end was good which I found gave a sick twist to the fairytale endings of Boy gets girl instead it was Homicidal maniac gets girl.
until next time
Dawn :)

Black Cat White Cat

Black Cat, White Cat is the whacky and bizarre 1998 Yugoslavian film from Emir Kustrica. A romantic comedy it tells the story of Matko a small time hustler and his 17 year old son Zare. After a failed business deal he owes money to the much more successful gangster Dadan. Dadan has a sister, Afrodita, that he desperately wants to see get married so they strike a deal: Zare is to marry her. But none of the two care much for an arranged marriage: Zare is in love with Ida, Afrodita is waiting for the man of her dreams.

So kick back and relax and witness this hilarious run of events from start to finish in this devouring comedy. Unlike anything you've ever seen you wont be dissapointed

Friday Night Lights

Friday Night Lights is a 2004 drama film based on the coach and players of a 1988 high school football team. The film was based on a book but apparently the film is completly different. Billy Bob Thornton (played as santa in 'bad santa') plays the roll of the coach Gary Gains.

the film has the theme of racism poverty, segregation and social conflicts. Theres alot of people who talk about the the film and how it ruins the story in which the book wrote. Complaints about numbers on the players are supposed to be all wrong, but that didnt bother me I just watched and enjoyed.

If your a fan off american football this is the film for you. I watched the film and enjoyed it. I recommend it to football fans. but if you have no interest , stay away.

Brian