Review: Trick 'r Treat

I finally saw Trick 'r Treat! The movie that was pushed back by Warner Bros., then shelved, before ending up as a direct-to-dvd release. I never understood why though as the trailer looked promising and there was good word of mouth.

I guess people took offense to the kid killing that happens in the film, but this movie definitely isn't worse than any random Saw sequel. I thought the movie was quite tame, even if it was mean spirited.

Trick 'r Treat is an anthology; there are different stories that take place on the same Halloween night. Characters do crossover into the different stories.

The film starts off very strong with Leslie Bibb and Tahmoh Penikett (Dollhouse) as a couple, with Bibb being the Halloween hater of the two. Lesson learned: don't be a Halloween hater. I was impressed director Michael Doughtery managed to create quite a lot of suspense in such a short amount of time. This segment is maybe 5+ minutes long (or short).

Next we have Dylan Baker as the town's principal, who also happens to be a crazed killer. This segment is particularly mean spirited, yet Baker pulls it off with a certain light-heartedness. IMHO, it's the best segment of the bunch as it's a realistic horror we're dealing with here: there could really be some crazy person putting poison or razorblades into your candy.

Then there's Anna Paquin and friends who are out and about in sexy costumes looking for a good time. This is my least favorite story. Without spoiling anything, I wasn't particularly fond of the way the story played out. I prefer realistic horror over the supernatural.

Then there was The School Bus Massacre. I do dig urban legends and this segment was well executed. However, to me, the end of the story felt so out of place. I think the first two stories set up a Trick 'r Treat world where we're dealing with realistic horrors so I found it disappointing when Paquin's story and the School Bus Massacre took a different route. If the order of the stories was changed, I might not have felt the same way.

The last story features Brian Cox as another Halloween hater, who gets a visit from Sam, a tiny trick-or-treater in orange pjs and a sack over his head. It's a freaky segment and Cox definitely learned his Halloween lesson.

Visually, the film looks amazing. Doughtery really captured the Halloween atmosphere. And overall, it was quite enjoyable while watching it. Though when the credits rolled, boyfriend and I just sat there in silence for a minute, unsure what to think. I don't know what it is, I guess the film doesn't work as a whole for me. But I'm not saying it's a bad movie. A 3/5.

Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic

I've heard many bad things about this movie. I, however, liked it. It helps to belong to the target audience, to like shopping and fashion and to adore Isla Fisher.

Fisher plays Becky Bloomwood, a shopaholic with a huge credit card debt. She dreams of working for a fashion magazine, but ends up working for financial mag Successful Savings. Becky becomes an overnight success giving people financial advice that she herself has trouble following.

Shopaholic the movie is based on Sophie Kinsella's first two Shopaholic novels: Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan. I've read them both and I enjoyed them very much. They're fun reads! I know people are disappointed that the movie didn't follow the books more closely. Or they are disappointed that they used material from the first two books for one movie. While I would've liked to see two seperate movies for the two books that both followed the books more closely, I ultimately didn't mind the changes too much.

Two things I didn't like: Luke working at Successful Savings and the moving mannequins. While I liked this Luke and Hugh Dancy as Luke, it's not the Luke from the books. Turning Luke into Becky's boss is rather convenient. And that's just lazy screenwriting. And the mannequins? OH MY GOD! How did that get past test screenings? Seriously? I want to know! Awful, just AWFUL! What is wrong with using voice over?

I liked the elements they used from the books. At beginning Becky looks at her bill and says 'OK, don't panic', followed by her assumption that her creditcard must have been stolen. I liked that Luke gave Becky money so she could buy her Denny & George scarf. I liked that Becky had to sell all her stuff at the end, and that Luke ended up buying her scarf back. That was AWWWW.

I read the books with Fisher in mind as Becky and she was perfect. Exactly the Becky I imagined her to be. I liked Krysten Ritter as Suze. I know she looks nothing like book-Suze, but since I read them knowing Krysten would play her, I didn't mind. Leslie Bibb doesn't have much to do as Alicia. I don't know why they put so much make up on her face. Leslie is a naturally gorgeous girl! Dancy was perfectly charming as Luke, but again, his character wasn't like book-Luke at all.

Overall, it was an enjoyable movie, mostly thanks to the undeniably charming Isla Fisher. A 3,5/5.

Review: The Midnight Meat Train

How did this movie end up in dollar theaters? Really, I'm mad right now. It's better than most of the (horror) crap that gets a decent release. Seriously! Shame on you, Lionsgate!

My fave actor du jour Bradley Cooper plays Leon, a photographer trying to capture the dark side of the city and humanity for an upcoming exhibit. He starts to suspect that a man he has photographed, Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), may in fact be a serial killer. Leon's obsession with Mahogany not only puts his life in danger, but that of his girlfriend Maya (Leslie Bibb) as well.

I haven't read Clive Barker's short story on which the movie is based, but I was aware of the ending. I think most people who hate on this movie aren't aware of the story's ending. Confusion strikes, which is followed by hate.

*SPOILERS-R-US* I quite like the ending with Leon having turned into the next butcher. If only he hadn't been so obsessed! I felt Maya's death was a bit pointless at that moment when it happened. Really, if they wanted to kill her off, why not while trying to help Leon fight Mahogany? I mean, the girl showed guts going into Mahogany's apartment and into the subway. Why not let her fight or at least attempt to? */SPOILERS*

I liked the cast. I'm very pro Bradley Cooper. There should be more of Bradley Cooper in movies. I'm very pleased to see him here. He's a capable leading man, while having this regular Joe vibe about him. I don't see Josh Hartnett or Jude Law playing Leon. Leslie Bibb is someone I love and who doesn't get enough credit. Her character kinda bugged, but that's not her fault. Vinnie Jones gave a good performance. He wasn't just a menacing bad guy. There was something more underneath. So rock on, Vinnie! Okay, Roger Bart, I can't take him seriously. I've seen him on Desperate Housewives! He's not a bad actor, but seeing him hanging upside down was more funny than disturbing. Oops.

I'm a sucker for great cinematography so bonus points for that. Also, interesting camera angles! Especially during certain kills. Great stuff.

Overall, Lionsgate sucks ass for dumping this movie. Rent it. Buy it. Love it. A solid 4/5.

Trailer Park: Good versus Bad trailers

I innocently surfed over to YouTube and staring at me on the index page was the trailer for the Prom Night "remake". I wasn't interested in this movie, but then again, I wasn't interested in the remakes for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead and The Hills Have Eyes either, and they turned out to be pretty damn great. Of course, those movies had (besides good scripts and cinematography) excellent casts to carry them. While watching the Prom Night trailer, the only person I even recognize is that Brittany Snow girl in the lead role. And Brittany Snow ain't no Jessica Biel, Sarah Polley or Aaron Stanford.


Trailer starts with the preparations for prom night and it makes me feel like I'm watching a commercial for One Tree Hill or something.. A cover of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time plays. It's not even a completely horrible cover and might just be the best thing about this trailer. Hmmmm... After about a minute we get to the "scary parts" and I come to the conclusion that this in no shape, way or form even resembles the original Prom Night. It looks like another generic, PG-13 teen horror flick. Plus, the trailer gives too much away. I feel like I've seen the entire movie already. Isn't a trailer supposed to leave you wanting more? IMDB reminds me that Johnathon Schaech is in this film and by David-Boreanaz-in-Valentine-logic, he must be the killer.
To be viewed: on TV

Now a good trailer, and one that definitely leaves me wanting more, is the Midnight Meat Train trailer. MMT is based on a short story by Clive Barker and stars Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields and Vinnie Jones.


Cooper plays a photographer who runs into a brutal killer (Jones) on the subway. The trailer looks creepy, doesn't give too much away and leaves me with questions like 'Why does Cooper go after the killer by himself?', and 'Why does his girlfriend (Bibb) go on the subway if she knows there's a killer?' Aaarghh the wait is killing me! Plus, I really like Bradley Cooper and Leslie Bibb, and an appealing cast is always important to me.
To be viewed: opening weekend!