Eliciting horror in film is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult tasks a director can take on. Meticulous planning in camera, lighting and pacing and so much more go into leaving an impression on the audience. As a huge fan of horror, I recently gave The Shining a watch, one of the undisputed champions of the horror genre.
Although it lived up to its reputation as being scary as hell, I was left scratching my head by the end of it. I couldn’t pinpoint why I found it so scary. There weren’t any jump scares or tense music cues to reveal an ugly monster or any other conventional horror means of scariness. Continue reading
When you think about your childhood, what do you remember? Going to school? Doing your homework? Doing your chores? Or, instead, do you remember having fun? Fun that seemed like it would never end; fun that was part of who you were and who you are now. That fun, that fundamental part of your being, was due partly to Mr Stan Lee.
Grease is not a good movie. Grease is not a particularly good musical either. By any ostensible measure of quality Grease is average at best, and that’s being generous. It is poorly structured, poorly plotted, and poorly made… and yet there is something undeniably infectious about it.
It’s November in the US which means it is time to start celebrating Christmas, and along with The Grinch, Disney is kicking things off with their new Christmas film Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Based off the hit ballet, Nutcracker is taking a generally story-less tale and turning it into fantasy war epic similar to the 2010 Alice in Wonderland. 
Critical praise rained on the Coen brothers in 2008 for their work in No Country for Old Men. From creating an unforgettable antagonist to redefining a genre, No Country for Old Men left its impression on audiences and critics alike. But I think one of the biggest impression the film left can also be considered a huge gamble. Many passable movies today have the tendency to spoon-feed exposition through either uninspired dialog (Star Wars: Episode I) or plot devices (action scenes in the Transformers series).