Cin’s Movie Critiques

Guest Review by Sadie Somerville

Is it just me, or have you all realized how much the world uses the Internet? There is almost everything on the Internet. Schools, videos, music, books, everything. Especially videos. It seems like people always get a kick out of watching videos on the Internet. Some are intelligent and information, some are for music and most are just for silly entertainment. I noticed that lately my grandpa Brett has been a YouTube fanatic. I never really got into the whole video online stuff, but he seems to enjoy it. It seems like each time I come over to his house he has a new video to show me. It’s quite amusing. Some of my friends also have been showing me videos and I grin and bear it, because I personally don’t think they are that funny, but they do. But that’s with a lot of things. I might as well have Party Pooper stamped on my forehead, but I do try. Anyways, there are a lot of sites that show videos and whatnot. Like I said, there are videos about almost everything. Some are actually quite gruesome-

Untraceable

Diane Lane, Billy Burke. Rated R for grisly violence and torture, some language. 2008, Suspense. Sadie’s Critique:

Untraceable is about a cyber killer. A cyber killer who has a website that shows people slowly dying. The more people who visit the site, the faster the victim dies. FBI Agent Jennifer Marsh begins to investigate the case, trying to figure out where the site is coming from, to find who has created it. She does all of this, only to find that the site is untraceable. The victims on the site begin to increase, as do the viewers. Now the victims are dying in minutes, verses hours. As the investigation continues, Jennifer Marsh becomes a target. Now in a race to protect her own life, she has to figure our who the sick-minded Creator of the site is and who the next victim is-before it’s too late.

Despite the occasional sickening sites in this movie, the plot and such were very good. It kept you guessing. You definitely had to follow what they were saying and had to concentrate to keep up with the movie. I really enjoyed it. I’d give it four stars.

Memento

Guy Pearce, Carrie Ann Moss. Rated R for violence, language and some drug content. 2000, Mystery/Thriller. Cin’s Critique:

This movie is a puzzle. It begins five minutes from the end. After playing out those five minutes, it stops and rewinds to ten minutes from the end and plays another five minute increment. Thus telling the story backwards, yet building upon new information. It very effectively draws you into the life of the character.

“Lets see…what am I doing? Oh! I’m chasing this guy. No…he’s chasing me!” This is by far the funniest part of the movie, as the main character finds himself running, but can’t remember why. He figures out quickly (while being shot at) that he is not the one doing the chasing.

Leonard Shelby suffers from anterograde amnesia, a form of memory loss that prevents him from forming new memories. The last thing he does remember: his wife being murdered. This is a story of revenge. He tries to piece together information as he gathers it, using written notes, photographs, even tattoos, before he loses his memory of it. His goal is to use this information to track down his wife’s killer.

Twisted, unusual and hard to follow, this one you may have to watch twice to figure out, but it would be well worth the time it takes to do so. Click here for a preview.

The Invisible

Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva. Rated PG-13 for violence, criminality, sensuality and language – all involving teens. 2007, Mystery. Cin’s Critique: 1 ½ *

Perhaps it was the anticipation and long wait that helped build it up, but I felt The Invisible was an extreme disappointment. I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for nine or ten months now. Previews started showing last fall, the movie was supposed to be released in January. For some reason it kept getting postponed, and finally came to theaters April 27. I rushed to the Megaplex, eager to watch this mysterious thriller, and it just did not deliver.

The premise sounded great, a spirit caught between worlds, trying to figure out how he was murdered, then realizing he is still alive. If he can solve the mystery of his own death before his body dies, he can go back to the world of the living. Unfortunately, there was too much teenager phlegm and pathetic characters that interfered with the interesting parts of the movie and ultimately destroyed it. Maybe I could try rewriting this one and submit it as a real movie and become a billionaire.

Premonition

Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon. Rated PG-13 for some violent content, disturbing images, thematic material and brief language. 2007, Drama/Mystery. Cin’s Critique: 4 ½ *

A housewife receives the tragic news that her husband has been killed in a car accident. The next day she wakes up and he is alive and well. The next day, he is dead again. As she struggles with her own sanity, she pieces together a puzzle that takes the audience for an intense roller coaster ride.

A definite two thumbs up for Premonition. This one was so remarkable that I saw it in the theater not once, but twice! (Not something I usually do, but my sister really wanted to go, even though I had already seen it…J ) What surprised me was that in two days I had forgotten how intense this movie was! And even though I knew how it would end, I was still trying to figure out what was going on.

Premonition was a masterpiece! Scary, funny, romantic, horrific, and all with an incredible ending that you don’t see coming until it has hit you between the eyes like a ton of bricks. It literally took my breath away, even the second time. Go see this one right away!

p.s. Check out the promotional movie poster that has Sandra Bullock’s face in the trees. When you take a closer look, you’ll see that her facial features are made up of clouds, birds, and tree branches. Eerie…

Dreams are one of my favorite things in life. They have fascinated me since I was very young. The power of the mind is truly awe invoking as it sorts through our days and our feelings, to keep what it needs and discard what it doesn’t.

We all have awoken from dreams so real and intense, that for a moment we are not sure if we are still dreaming. I love that feeling! I often find myself trying to grasp my dreams and hold onto them throughout the day, trying to remember every little detail, trying to feel what it made me feel when I was asleep. If you are like me in this respect, you will love this movie!

Passion of Mind

Demi Moore. Rated PG-13 for sexuality. 2000, Romance/Suspense. Cin’s Critique: 4 *

A mother in France goes to sleep every night and dreams of her life in New York City as a successful businesswoman. The life is so real; every moment so detailed and complete, that she doesn’t know if it is a dream. When she goes to sleep in New York, she wakes up in France.

This movie is fascinating, trying to figure out which world is real and which one is the dream. Both worlds are rich in different ways. The problem comes when she meets a man in both worlds. The reality in both her lives is shaken and she is forced to choose which one she must live in.

I’m not a huge fan of Demi Moore, but she was perfect for this role. This film is a true romance, and the suspense of how it will turn out propels it forward to a very fulfilling ending.

The Thirteenth Floor

Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol. Rated R for violence and language. 1999, Science Fiction. Cin’s Critique: 3 ½ *

I’ve seen this movie four times now. I like it every time I watch it. What amazes me is that I can never remember it. Is that a bad sign? That it can’t even stick with me? Or a good sign, meaning the plot was so intricate and twisted my own mind cannot remember the details? Hmmm…anyway, after recently watching and still remembering, I recommend this one to the science fiction crowd. (And the computer software crowd.)

The Thirteenth Floor questions the famous philosophy I think, therefore I am. A software developer finds himself with a bit of amnesia and the suspect of a murder. Trying to find answers he delves into the computer simulated world he and his now dead partner created. Did he kill his friend, or did a character from the world somehow creep into consciousness and reality, and commit the grisly crime?

This movie has parts that feel like Tron and The Matrix, but it’s just the feel, the story lines are completely different. I especially liked the computer-simulated world being set in 1937 Los Angeles. It gave the movie a unique setting for science fiction: the past. A well thought out plot gives the audience answers along the way and still manages a twisty surprise ending.

I was so excited to receive my first review request! I acted right away and rented The Abyss in response to Rusty’s request for a classic science fiction movie. This is the first science fiction movie I ever saw, so it seemed old enough to be a classic to me! However, after watching it, I think I missed the mark a little, so I will try again another time to watch and review something a little more classic and a little more science fiction for you Rust.

The Abyss

Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Rated PG-13 for language and some scenes of action. 1989, Science Fiction/Adventure/Thriller. Cin’s Critique: 3 ½ *

I would have been 13 when this came out, I remember my older brothers watching it and telling me to leave the room when there was a scary part. That seems funny now, because my 3 and 5 year olds watched it with me today, and I never had them leave once! (They’re brave you know…) So, this is the first time I’ve watched it since I was young, and I was delighted with it. It was suspenseful and mysterious.

The Abyss is about a team that goes under the ocean to look for a lost nuclear submarine, and also discover what they think is an alien species living underwater. Needless to say, things are a little scary below the surface, it’s dark and dreary and cold. Not only are these people fighting the fear in their own minds of just being down there alone, they are afraid of whatever is out there in the water.

This was a great movie. A thriller, without being too scary. Science fiction, without being too far out there. Action/adventure without big explosions and special effects. With a great ending! Those of you that have watched this one, leave a comment and let me know how you liked it. (I’m especially wondering how those older brothers remember it.)