Final Destination 3 @ IMDB

Synopsis:
When Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has a premonition of a horrible rollercoaster accidents, she saves a handful of her classmates from a horrible fate. But when the survivors start dieing one by one, Wendy realizes its harder than it seems to cheat death. Can she convince everyone that death has a design for all of them? This is the third installment of the Final Destination series.

Review:
Some people are probably wondering why I gave this movie three stars. In fact I would bet that most people would give this movie one star, two if they were feeling generous. I have to be honest, I liked it. Probably because I’m a fan of the series. Plus its always fun to see what cool and sinister methods they develop to kill all the characters off. I never wrote a review for Final Destination 1 & 2. So if you’re not familiar with the series, here is the critical info: folks somehow cheat death, death’s not happy, death finds more complicated means of killing said folks. The only dissappointment I had with the previous films is that they killed Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) in FD2. I thought she was a good lead character (and potential tie between all of the films).

Anyway, enough about the first two films. This third installment has no characters in common with the previous films. We don’t even see the creepy mortician, William Bludworth (Tony Todd). According to IMDB, we hear him this time, but I can’t remember where that happens in the film. This movie does get a bit of a “teen” facelift, so the acting isn’t stellar. The cast isn’t horrible, but the previous casts were slightly more skilled. I did like how they chose to end the film. It was definitely a nice little ending, but I don’t want to ruin it. I have one complaint about the movie and its the same as my rant for A History of Violence so I won’t repeat it here.

The DVD is pretty cool. I rented it so I didn’t check out all of the features, but there is one feature that’s quite cool. When they made the movie, they filmed several sequences (including the deaths) in different ways. They then created a “Choose Their Fate” version of the film. As you watch the movie, a simple choice will appear before critical junctions in the movie. Based on your choice, characters will live or die. Its actually fun to play with and watch different versions of the movie. It reminded me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to read as a kid, but with far grislier endings. I plan to buy this movie, but I think I’ll wait until the price drops a little. I definitely think its worth the rental, and if you’re a fan of the previous films, a solid purchase. I guess it goes without saying, their is violence, gore, and nudity in this movie so its not for kids.

Enjoy…..

Synopsis:
The terrifying, VHS-haunting, ghost is back in this sequel to the 2002 horror movie. This time Samara (Daveigh Chase) has taken a personal interest in Aidan (David Dorfman). Samara wants a mother and she’ll do anything to get one…

Review:
This one is going to be short and sweet. I really, really didn’t like this movie. The Ring was unique, horrifying, and intense. That is everything that The Ring Two is not. They broke all of the rules the setup in the first film. Samara is not bound by the tape. She is free to haunt anyone she pleases. She can possess bodies and she wants a mother?! Ok so the mother part isn’t such a stretch, but part two supposedly takes place six months after the original. So did she not want her mommy for the last six months? The movie also plays way to predictably. You can see every death coming a mile away and I just wasn’t scared.

I’m not going to waste any more time with this one. Rent The Ring if you haven’t seen it, but don’t waste your time with The Ring Two. Its not even worth the rental (I regretted getting it from Blockbuster).

Synopsis:
A quiet coastal town is terrorized by a mysterious fog that seems to have a life of its own. Vengence is in the air as ghosts come to claim what is theirs from the descendents of thier murderers. This is a remake of the classic 1980 horror flick John Carpenter’s The Fog.

Review:
This movie was an utter disappointment. I didn’t have high hopes when I went to see it, but I did have some. There is a long list of things that were wrong with this movie, and a very short list of things that were right. The plot can’t be criticized that much, though it was changed from the original which I don’t think helped the movie at all. Of course the biggest problem was pretty simple: it wasn’t scary. I remember seeing the original, and being afraid. Of course I saw it as a child, which makes a difference I’m sure, but I would expect the new version to at least have some shock value.

I was not at any point during the movie scared or surprised. In fact, for most of it I was bored. Most horror movies these days employ two principle methods, gore and surprise. Most people get scared when they see a lot of blood or when something jumps out at them. This movie used neither. If it had, it might have fared better in my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like excessive gore, but a few ghosts popping out of closets would have made this movie more entertaining.

The movie was also a lot of history and not a lot of action. While I was watching it, I hoped that the first hour and a half, which was slow and dull, would build up to an amazing closing ten minutes. Not suprisingly, the last ten minutes were as much of a let down as the first ninety. If you do watch this movie, feel free to fast forward through more than half of it.

The acting wasn’t necessarily bad, but I can’t say that it was good either. The actors really were under utilized in this movie. They had nothing to do. The dialogue was poorly written so acting really wasn’t necessary. Tom Wellings (Clark Kent on Smallville) plays Nick Castle, boyish captain of a charter boat, and our hero. I personally am a fan of Wellings’ acting on Smallville. I think he does a good job on the series, but he didn’t have anything to do in this movie. His character was shallow and weak. Not much to perform. I even think Maggie Grace (Shannon on Lost) who plays Elizabeth Williams was under utilized. Considering the fact that I don’t think she’s the greatest of actresses, that’s saying a lot.

Overall, not even worthy of a rental. I personally wish I hadn’t spent the matinee price for this one. If you’re interested in the plot, check out John Carpenter’s The Fog. Though I haven’t seen it in many years, I’m sure that it is a lot better than this modern day remake.