[geggis]

Luna, I haven't seen the film but I really don't expect it to be. It'll essentially be Pocahontas shot through with science fiction using whizz bang 3D and CG on a scale never seen before. I'm sure the others will let you know anyway! It'll definitely not be Paranormal Activity which I saw a couple of weeks ago!!

Paranormal Activity was great. It cleverly uses many different horror devices to illicit all sorts of scares. I thought it was really creepy with some brilliant scenes. Even if you're a stalwart horror fan there's bound to be something in there that'll give you the shivers. Make sure you watch it at night when everyones gone to bed

[TiAgUh]

Originally Posted by geggis

Paranormal Activity was great.

No it wasnt, it was one of the most boring movies i've ever seen and don't you dare say good things about it unless they include the words "big" and "boobs"!
I went with 2 girls and well these ones get scared easily like actually screaming and holding to the person next to them (ME!) in the 'scary parts' and guess what: there was none of it this time!

well actually there was a lot of it ... but not thanks to the movie!

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by geggis

Paranormal Activity was great. It cleverly uses many different horror devices to illicit all sorts of scares. I thought it was really creepy with some brilliant scenes. Even if you're a stalwart horror fan there's bound to be something in there that'll give you the shivers. Make sure you watch it at night when everyones gone to bed

That's another one I'm quite curious about. But because I'm so lazy I'll probably just wait until it's out on DVD.

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Avatar: I understand the critiques, but otherwise, I fully loved the film. I went in with the right expectations and totally enjoyed it.

However, I saw many parallels to at least one Ursula Le Guin story that were not acknowledged, so I'm concerned about that.

[Lucien21]

Where the Wild Things Are

Based on a beloved childrens books, this is directed by Spike Jonze (Being John Malcovich).

Max is a young boy with a big imagination, his big sister is growing up and getting her own friends, his mother has a new boyfriend and he prefers to play in his pretend forts.

After an argument with his mother he runs out the house and into a world of his imagination. A world populated by giant monsters, where he is their king and they can run through the forest howling at the moon, where they sleep in a big pile, make giant forts, have dirt fights and everything else a young boy wants to do.

This was a fun fun the Henson costumes with the cgi faces are very well done on the monsters, the monsters are all very well realised (they are all different aspects of Max's personality) and the young actor who plays Max is very good.

Let your imagination run wild, remind yourself of what it is like to be a kid on the verge of growing up and go see this film (although it may be a tad scary for younger kids).

Loved it.

4/5

[geggis]

Originally Posted by TiAgUh

No it wasnt, it was one of the most boring movies i've ever seen and don't you dare say good things about it unless they include the words "big" and "boobs"!

I don't agree at all. Why did you think it was boring? What were you expecting?

[TiAgUh]

Originally Posted by geggis

I don't agree at all. Why did you think it was boring? (1) What were you expecting? (2)

1 - Almost everything that was supposed to be scary was shown in the trailer; trailer = 1:45min. \ movie = 86min.
2 - Something hum.. actually scary ? And no im not saying jump scare moments like .Rec

__

The Taste of Tea
Not as weird as Visitor Q (no movie is) but there was some cool stuff in this one like the yakuza ghost part and some freaking scary stuff like this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01wOhgg27dM .. epic mindf*ck

[kuze]

Originally Posted by TiAgUh

1 - Almost everything that was supposed to be scary was shown in the trailer; trailer = 1:45min. \ movie = 86min.
2 - Something hum.. actually scary ? And no im not saying jump scare moments like .Rec

Well I was scared. What movies did scare you if PA didn't?

[geggis]

Originally Posted by TiAgUh

1 - Almost everything that was supposed to be scary was shown in the trailer; trailer = 1:45min. \ movie = 86min.
2 - Something hum.. actually scary ? And no im not saying jump scare moments like .Rec

I hadn't seen a second from the film before watching it so it was all new to me; trailers reveal WAY too much these days so I steer well clear. I saw the US trailer after the film and was amazed to see the ending in there. Wait, [rec] had jump moments? I don't remember one! You want jumps go see Drag me to hell!

Spoiler:

[rec] was pretty average until that last 15 minutes where things started to get pretty edgy. It was worth the price of entry just for that!

Jumps are quite cheap and much easier to achieve but creeping people out these days is a much trickier business. I thought Paranormal Activity was one of the creepiest films I've seen since The Blair Witch Project and if you didn't find that creepy then these sorts of films are definitely not for you. I much prefer the slow burning, subtle kind of horror.

Originally Posted by kuze

Well I was scared. What movies did scare you if PA didn't?

I'm damn intrigued as well. What're the scariest movies you've ever seen TiAgUh?

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Luna, I only now saw your question about Avatar being scary. It is not a horror film, but there is violence and are tense moments. But there is also beauty and justice. I don't know what the others are talking about, but the intent of the film is to give you a sense of astonishment and amazement, plus to carry us through many well-worth mythical themes. Some of them are tired, but are still well done.

[TiAgUh]

Originally Posted by geggis

(1) Wait, [rec] had jump moments? I don't remember one! (2) You want jumps go see Drag me to hell!

1- Tell that to the lady who threw up when she saw the cop's neck i'll never forget that <3.
Rec was pretty entertaining (unlike P.Activity); I saw it in a theater so that must explain some of the jump moments, being loud as hell and all. The fact that it was all happening in Spain and that there was something in there about Portugal also helped turn the movie into something quite creepy.

2- lol sam raimi

Originally Posted by kuze

Well I was scared. What movies did scare you if PA didn't?

Hum Ernest Scared Stupid? Intense.

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by geggis

Jumps are quite cheap and much easier to achieve but creeping people out these days is a much trickier business. I thought Paranormal Activity was one of the creepiest films I've seen since The Blair Witch Project and if you didn't find that creepy then these sorts of films are definitely not for you. I much prefer the slow burning, subtle kind of horror.

I second that.

Whilst I kinda have mixed feelings about The Blair Witch Project, there were a LOT of scenes and events in that film that got under my skin and kept playing through my mind. Creepy. And as I've no doubt mentioned already, Let the Right One In (although not really a horror) haunted me for days, weeks and months. That really got under my skin. And now, it's on my skin as a tattoo.

We really need more horror films that are, as you said, slow burning and subtle. There are far too many samey horror films nowadays that go for the easy route - loads of blood and gore (which isn't scary) and 'jump-out-your-seat' moments.

[geggis]

Originally Posted by Gazzoid

I second that.

Whilst I kinda have mixed feelings about The Blair Witch Project, there were a LOT of scenes and events in that film that got under my skin and kept playing through my mind. Creepy. And as I've no doubt mentioned already, Let the Right One In (although not really a horror) haunted me for days, weeks and months. That really got under my skin. And now, it's on my skin as a tattoo.

We really need more horror films that are, as you said, slow burning and subtle. There are far too many samey horror films nowadays that go for the easy route - loads of blood and gore (which isn't scary) and 'jump-out-your-seat' moments.

Ah, that's strange I didn't really see Let the Right One In as a horror! It seemed to focus more on the characters and their difficult situations rather than any sort of impending evil :-S I thought it was great though.

Have you seen A Tale of Two Sisters? I highly recommend it Gazzoid!

[kuze]

Originally Posted by TiAgUh

Hum Ernest Scared Stupid? Intense.

Mmh alright.

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by geggis

Ah, that's strange I didn't really see Let the Right One In as a horror! It seemed to focus more on the characters and their difficult situations rather than any sort of impending evil :-S I thought it was great though.

Have you seen A Tale of Two Sisters? I highly recommend it Gazzoid!

It's been mislabeled as a horror. Especially over here, in the UK. I know that a number of people were disappointed with it as a result. But yeah, it's more of a drama - an anti-horror film, you could say.

Yes, I've seen (and own) A Tale of Two Sisters. I had mixed feelings about that as well. I don't know why... I guess it's because I found it a bit confusing in places. I think I just need to rewatch it is all.

It's not a horror either, but have you seen Pan's Labyrinth? I love that film.

[geggis]

Originally Posted by Not A Speck Of Cereal

Luna, I only now saw your question about Avatar being scary. It is not a horror film, but there is violence and are tense moments. But there is also beauty and justice. I don't know what the others are talking about, but the intent of the film is to give you a sense of astonishment and amazement, plus to carry us through many well-worth mythical themes. Some of them are tired, but are still well done.

I saw Avatar the other day and have to say I came out feeling pretty neutral about it. It was very predictable and corny with a fair few political platitudes heavy handedly shoehorned in and it did the overall film a disservice. I think if these weren't in I'd have just let the cliches wash over me but they really jarred. Another thing, while the effects were amazing (the Na'vi looked incredible) the art direction I found rather uninspiring. Me and my friend said that if you threw $300 million at any art director's vision it would probably have looked just as good. It all just felt very familiar. I was really disappointed by the soundtrack as well which I expected to resemble the pulsing teaser trailer music but it was a rather underwhelming effort from Horner. For how long the film was it seemed very quickly edited not lingering for a moment to reflect some of the ideas it was pushing. Also we saw the film in 3D and to be honest I'm not sure whether it was because we were sat off center and quite close but it was really difficult to focus on certain parts of the screen and there was quite a lot of ghosting in some scenes.

However, on numerous occasions I forgot I was watching pretty much pure CG and I think this was partly down to the large stretches of it, to the point that when real people did appear I blinked in quiet awe. It really is a visual spectacle and something I'd really not liked to have missed. There were some points where I felt genuinely angry/sad/happy so the film obviously had an emotional core buried under the clunky script and eye-popping effects.

Originally Posted by Gazzoid

It's been mislabeled as a horror. Especially over here, in the UK. I know that a number of people were disappointed with it as a result. But yeah, it's more of a drama - an anti-horror film, you could say.

Yes, I've seen (and own) A Tale of Two Sisters. I had mixed feelings about that as well. I don't know why... I guess it's because I found it a bit confusing in places. I think I just need to rewatch it is all.

It's not a horror either, but have you seen Pan's Labyrinth? I love that film.

Yeah I found A Tale of Two Sisters a little confusing in places but the scares were unbelievable.

Spoiler:

Particularly the scenes where the sisters are in bed and the one with the presence under the sink. Brrr.

Pan's Labyrinth was fantastic but I wanted to see more of the labyrinth! Devil's Backbone is good if you haven't seen it, as well as The Orphanage. That has a really creepy bit in it.

Spoiler:

The bit with the tapping in the house. Horrible!

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by geggis

Yeah I found A Tale of Two Sisters a little confusing in places but the scares were unbelievable.

Spoiler:

Particularly the scenes where the sisters are in bed and the one with the presence under the sink. Brrr.

Hehe, yeah the sink part made me jump. I knew something like that was going to happen but it's just the way it did.

Pan's Labyrinth was fantastic but I wanted to see more of the labyrinth! Devil's Backbone is good if you haven't seen it, as well as The Orphanage. That has a really creepy bit in it.

Spoiler:

The bit with the tapping in the house. Horrible!

Aye, I've got Devil's Backbone and The Orphange. Great movies! Two more I should give a rewatch at some point.

Spoiler:

The tapping game scene was very eerie, as well as that female ghost hunter wandering around the house in the dark. And... let's not forget the 'bus accident' scene. Whoa!

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

Not to disagree with you on any specific point, but to comment on this:

Originally Posted by geggis

I saw Avatar the other day and have to say I came out feeling pretty neutral about it. It was very predictable and corny with a fair few political platitudes heavy handedly shoehorned in and it did the overall film a disservice. I think if these weren't in I'd have just let the cliches wash over me but they really jarred ... It all just felt very familiar.

We all who went to my viewing agreed that not only did it at times turn predictable, the film down-right borrowed from many other works, myths and legends. And yes, the political/environmental comparisons were there, but I wouldn't call them trite; they were simply mechanisms/vehicles to allow us to be taken away by this world and it's people's plight (in a new, very enjoyable way).

Of course it was familiar--it is steeped in the hero mythos. I'm as okay with that as I was with Star Wars.

[RLacey]

Citizen Kane

Quite how I'd managed to go 23 years without seeing this is beyond me. Very good, but then you all already knew that.

[geggis]

Originally Posted by Not A Speck Of Cereal

Not to disagree with you on any specific point, but to comment on this:

We all who went to my viewing agreed that not only did it at times turn predictable, the film down-right borrowed from many other works, myths and legends. And yes, the political/environmental comparisons were there, but I wouldn't call them trite; they were simply mechanisms/vehicles to allow us to be taken away by this world and it's people's plight (in a new, very enjoyable way).

Of course it was familiar--it is steeped in the hero mythos. I'm as okay with that as I was with Star Wars.

I agree that the political and environmental themes were necessary for the plot and I had no problems with them but it was all those throwaway remarks and as I say, platitudes that really snapped me out of the mythology. They seemed like real life news and politics soundbytes artifically underpinning the film's themes which were otherwise blatantly apparent (well at least to me). I don't feel the film needed to be that obvious to be effective.

Spoiler:

"We're going to fight terror with terror!", "So if there's something we want from someone we turn them into our enemies?", "They piss on us but haven't even got the courtesy to tell us its raining!" (probably not 100% accurate!)

Either way I'm glad I saw it and know that's it's going to be some time before anything like it comes along again, if at all.

Spoiler:

Oh and another thing, one of the most interesting parts of the film was when Sully started to question what was real to him and what was a dream. Unfortunately the film didn't linger on it enough!