The Bounty Hunter

I am actually a pretty big fan of Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, so them being in the same movie is pretty great to me. The story itself is pretty cool in theory. Milo (Butler) is a bounty hunter that chases down criminals that jump bail. Nicole is a reporter that has a court date for assaulting a cop that she skips out on. Happily, for Milo he is the one sent to bring her in.

In between his life of drinking and passing out Milo tracks Nicole down to a race track, where it catches Nicole and tosses her in the trunk of his car. Pretty easily done until she lights the road flare in his trunk and starts a small fire.

As the movie goes on we discover that Nicole is onto more than just a basic story and the two will, of course, start to fall back in love. It is a romantic comedy after all, and the two have amazing chemistry as costars but I never really bought them as an actual couple. The movie, however, does have some serious flaws beyond that. The parts that are funny are great, but the downtime can be boring as hell at times. I did enjoy the movie, and fans of either actor or romantic comedies will probably enjoy it but realistically it simply isn’t a very good movie and is at best average. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Day 21, Yautja (aka The Predator)

predator

The cosmos is a vast place full of life, and the Yautja are there to fight the fiercest of it. An ancient race of hunters that travel across galaxies in search of trophies and the deadliest prey in the universe. Armed with there signature arm blades, shoulder mounted plasma cannons, spears, razors nets, disks, and cloaking devices, they also have superior strength and infrared sight making them a huge threat. Good luck if a Predator sees you a challenge. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Sinister 2

sinister 2

Sinister was one of the very first reviews I ever wrote for this blog and honestly, it was one of my favorite horror movies of this decade. It had good characters and a interesting plot and disturbing silent home movies that actually gave me nightmares the day I saw them. Well, of course, it was going to get a sequel and of course it wasn’t really needed…

Courtney is a mom on the run to rural nowhere with her two young sons Zach and Dylan from there abusive father Clint. Courtney is terrified of her own shadow, Dylan is a nervous wreck, and Zach is aggressive and hungry for the power his father’s terror holds. The boys have made new friends though with the ghost children who took a liking to Dylan, showing him Bughuul’s home movies. The ex deputy from the first is on there tail though, but can he stop history from repeating itself?

I’m afraid to say this is a really inferior sequel to the first in almost every way. While the home movies are creepy, they are now accompanied by stock horror score which seriously cuts there impact down. There are plenty of jump scares now and we get way more Bughuul, who comes off like Slipknot- Slender Man instead of the menacing figure he once was. The ex deputy was the only character who frankly didn’t piss me off and there were some times I ended up laughing at the moments of overacting. The story is pretty bland and predictable with a ending that is just cheesy. I can’t say there isn’t anything worth seeing from this movie that you can’t see on YouTube in less than 5 minutes. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Day 19, Frankenstein’s monster

frankenstein karloff

The Frankenstein monster is one of the most tragic figures in horror as well as a legend birthed from the nightmares of Mary Shelly. An experiment by Victor Frankenstein to create life from the dead, his monster is created from the corpses of several men sewn together and brought to life by a miracle. What puts the monster aside from the other classics is the pathos and loneliness of the monster. I love this story and the various designs inspired by such a legendary story. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Day 18, The Borg

borg I never would have thought in my wildest dreams that Star Trek would’ve freaked me out but when I saw Star Trek First Contact as a kid, these half robotic bastards kept me up for a week. The Borg are a race of beings bent on perfection through fusing organic and cybernetics components, whether you want it or not. Through grisly means, they have an unfathomable number as they’ve conquered countless planets and absorbed thousands of races into there collective. What makes them so dangerous is there ability to adapt, forcing there opponents to constantly switch weapons and tactics until they can’t any longer. They a frightening force never to be taken to light in the universe. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Day 16, King Ghidorah

ghidorah

So for my first day of my favorite monsters, I want to go BIG. Let me begin with Godzilla’s nemesis, the three headed space dragon King Ghidorah. This mountainous Kaiju brought the planet to it’s knees in Godzilla: King of the monsters (Torsten) and besides his incredible size, he also possesses the ability to fire lightning and regenerate his heads and is basically a living storm. Ghidorah is raw mayhem and a awesome monster. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Fly

the fly

What would Halloween be without a good monster movie review? How about a review of one of the best remakes of all time and one of the most gruesome body horror movies.

Seth Brundle is a scientist making a teleportation device. He’s awkward but enthusiastic his invention will change the world, attracting the interest of a journalist named Ronnie. Seth’s experiment is seemingly a success, except for the unseen fly that found it’s way into the pod with him. The changes in Seth are small at first, he feels more lively and feels stronger with added libido. He tells Ronnie the process purified him, enhanced him and urges her to try it. Not long after he begins a series of horrific changes that accompany his enhanced strength and dexterity, he is becoming a new creature. He is becoming the fly; the question is can Ronnie escape before Seth changes her too?

It’s actually really hard and easy to do this review at the same time. The plot of this movie has been parodied so many times, I wouldn’t feel bad spoiling anything at this time. I will say this is Jeff  Goldblum’s best performance in my opinion as Brundle. He is mad, desperate and sympathetic but still terrifying. The layers of his decomposition is spectacular and what this movie is truly known for, but don’t watch this if you have a weak stomach. I love the moral conflict that Geena Davis has as Ronnie, watching and documenting this man’s hideous transformation and feeling sorry for him but wanting her story at the same time. The movie is a slow burn but will absolutely not disappoint leading to the tragic end. I highly recommend it this Halloween and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Turning trailer

For the millionth time; I’m really starting to think Hollywood is running out of ideas. The Turning is a modern telling of the classic horror story “The Turning of the Screw” and while I’d say this movie seems to be filmed pretty well, this looks generic as hell. I can’t say this movie is fully to blame, the source material is classic and has surely influenced countless others, but that being said this looks like every evil kid/ haunted house story ever. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Candyman

candyman

Candyman is one of those rare horror classics I haven’t seen fully until just recently. Based off of the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker (one of my favorite horror authors), I was excited to see what this icon had in store for me.

Helen Lyle and Bernadette Walsh are grad students investigating a local urban legend held accountable for several grisly murders, the Candyman. If you look into a mirror and say his name 5 times, a figure with a hook for a hand disembowels you. Upon further investigation Helen learns where this story originated, a young African American man was brutally killed by having his arm cut off and slathered in honey so he would by stung to death by thousands of bees and finally his body was burned and his ashes were scattered in what would be a run down apartment complex near her. She takes the legend in jest and summons the haunting figure who turns Helen’s life upside down to continue his legend; can Helen bring down the figure before he steals a baby’s life as well as her own?

While not perfect, I can safely say Candyman is a classic. Tony Todd as Candyman is menacing and his voice is frightening; my only grip is that they echo him too much and there’s a few times it becomes hard to understand his lines. I love the cinematography and the use of symbolism. My favorite besides Candyman’s full  reveal at the end is the entrance to his lair being a painting of his screaming face. Virginia Madsen as Helen isn’t a typical survivor girl and I liked her as a main character. The movie’s pacing is good and the score is pretty different which gives the movie a tone different than most slasher movies. A couple of times the effects look kooky but nothing unforgivable by any means. Candyman is definitely a movie I recommend to any horror fan who never saw it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.