Alright so after not shutting up about this movie for the past week, I decided to finally put my thoughts on this movie down. Before I give my thoughts, however, I will give a brief synopsis of what this movie is about.
"If I Stay" is a movie based on the book of the same name. It follows a girl named Mia Hall (played by Chloe Grace Moretz) and chronicles a life changing decision she has to make while having an out of body experience after a severe car crash puts her in a coma. It uses flashbacks to tell of her life before the accident, and shows how those moments may or may not impact that decision.
After watching the trailers for this movie and seeing that Chloe was going to be in this movie, I knew I had to go see this, as she is always in films that I thoroughly enjoy. I had no clue I would enjoy it as much as I had, and I honestly can't remember another time when I walked out of a movie theater as moved as I was watching this film.
Many aspects of this movie are likable for me. One of them is the way the characters were portrayed. These characters were deeper written than your average teen romance movies, giving them much more relatability. Also another thing similar to it that was new for me, and that I appreciated, is the film wasn't focused on just being a romance/tragedy or a teen drama. It fell into multiple genres and did them better than I can remember any film doing. Something I came to appreciate more after watching the movie is how much Mia likes classical music. I never really listened to Classical music much, but after this movie I'm going to give it a second chance for sure. It also doesn't hide the ugliness of life and the tragedy that is going on in her life. When she suffers, you can literally feel it as you're watching it.
Something else I picked up on was when you caught glimpses of an afterlife, it wasn't specific to any one religion or pushing any one agenda. Many of you may have seen films where this is obvious, and it really hinders the story and alienates people that feel differently. Also, the fact that at best Mia has some sort of Chinese religious liking, and no one else seems to have any kind of religious background, the film is sort of trying to take a more universalist stance, which is something that I find refreshing and that I hope is true about the next life.
Another reason why I think I loved this film so much is that it touches on a lot of issues that many people, especially myself, face everyday. For example, Mia is naturally a shy and quiet girl who would rather play her cello than go with a group of people. Her boyfriend, Adam, is the exact opposite. He is the lead singer for a punk rock band with an outgoing personality. This causes tension eventually, and if anyone else has had a relationship like this they will understand the difficulty in this (although for me I'm always the shy one with an outgoing girl, such is life I guess). Mia, as I stated earlier is someone who likes to be by herself rather than with people, which is why at first she is very reluctant to go out with Adam. She even tries to lie to him about not being able to go out just so she can stay in the comfort of her own home, which I can completely relate to because I do the same thing as well.
My favorite scene from this movie comes after a Halloween party. Mia dresses up as a punk rock girl for Adam, and in turn Adam dresses up as Beethoven for Mia. After the party, they are standing at Adam's car and talking. Mia asks Adam if he likes her better the way she looks that night (meaning as a punk rocker instead of her usual clothes). You can really see in her face how much she wants his approval, and how much she struggles with not seeing herself as beautiful (a reoccurring theme in Chloe's roles, which I love). His response was unforgettable to me. He says "I don't give a shit about the clothes. The person who you are tonight is the same person I loved yesterday and the day before that. Clothes mean nothing to me." A real gentlemen there.
The whole story revolves around Mia having to make a decision on whether or not she wants to continue on with this life, or go on to the next life (although I will say that the movie does such a good job telling the story I almost forgot about this). It brings up a question most of us have faced at one point in our lives. All of our at one point in our lives have felt like we've been to hell and back (much like Mia feels). Some of us have even felt like we just really wanted to go on to the next life, because the pains of life feel so overwhelming at times. The point is every single one of us has to deal with shit here on this planet that is terrible, but the people that are put into our lives make it worth continue living for.
All in all this movie will probably not be recognized as much as I feel it should. However, I highly recommend it if you're in the mood to watch this kind of movie. I cannot recommend it any higher! 9.5/10
Friday, September 5, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
My Soul to Take: Wes Craven's Most Underrated Movie
Wes Craven is a legend in the horror community. His movies cover the length of five decades and is the creator of some of the greatest slasher films of all time, such as Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street. However, some of his films have been criticized by critics. My Soul To Take is one of these films.
(Those of you who have not seen My Soul to Take, I highly recommend watching it before reading this review.)
My Soul to Take starts out with Abel Plenkov learning his true identity, which is The Riverton Ripper, the quiet little town of Riverton Massachusetts serial killer. In short, he is killed by the police in his bedroom (or so we think), and taken to the hospital. In route to the hospital, we hear dialogue from two paramedics who are talking about the possibility of why Abel murdered his family and others. The woman from the South says that where she's from, they would say he had a condition called multiple souls. (Meaning that he was filled with many souls of people who have lived before, and the evil one was doing all the killing). This sets up the premise for the rest of the movie.
This movie has a few up and coming actors in this. Max Theriot, who plays the main character nicknamed "Bug", is now a household name for horror fans (most notably known for playing Norman Bates's brother in Bates Motel). Emily Meade does a fantastic job of playing Leah (or "Fang"), Bug's sister, and I expect to be seeing more of her in the future. Nick Lashaway plays Brandon, and he has already been in quite a few more movies, such as The Last Song and 40-Year-Old-Virgin. One more notable character to mention is Paulina Olszynski, who is Brittany (the beauty queen) in this film. She has been rumored to be in the new Friday the 13th due out in 2015.
Before giving my opinion on the different aspects of the film, I want to start by saying that Wes Craven is my all time favorite director. I honestly have never watched a movie of his that I have disliked. That being said, when watching a Wes Craven horror film, there is a certain mindset you need to have before viewing it. if you want to watch a movie that will absolutely terrify you and leave you sleepless for a few nights, this is not your director. He does not make your typical slasher movies where teens have sex and get killed in creative ways. Wes's movies are always scary at times, but he always has very deep meanings to them, and I think My Soul to Take perfectly captures this, making it a typical Craven film.
You might have heard many reviews stating that this is nothing more than your average teen slasher. This could not be further from the truth. My Soul to Take carries with it a very complex story while having much more character development than almost any slasher film I have seen. To be honest, I think the camera work (especially in the classroom Condor scene), the acting, musical score (Marco Beltrami is a musical genius), and the directing are some of the finest I have seen in any slasher film. Needless to say, don't let critics deter you away from seeing this film, or even lowering your expectations for it.
This movie contains many messages that are personal for Wes and myself. It has many obvious Christian references, with the name being obviously taken from the children's prayer. The tag line for the film is "only one has the power to save their souls", which is a direct reference to Christians belief in Jesus Christ being the only one to have the power to save human souls. Wes's movies also always contain moral characters, and May is one. She always tries to do what is helpful for Bug, even though it doesn't always work, and she isn't right a lot. Penelope, who is the Jesus Freak of the movie, is portrayed in a conservative, fundamentalist Hell-fire and brimstone type. This is actually like Wes's mother, who was very fundamentalist Baptist. He grew up in this kind of strict environment, and so he is portraying his mother on screen. It's a very brilliant way to show how hypocritical various strands of Christianity and how it doesn't match the way things should be.
Bug is the most personal of all characters. Bug starts out the movie as an innocent 16 year old (as is stated many times throughout the film). As the movie progresses, Bug learns more about life as well as his own past, which makes him step out from being innocent and growing up into an adult. It has a certain "coming of age" tale to it that is prevalent in Craven films. However, this one is unique in that Wes grew up in a strict Baptist home, where he didn't even see a movie until he was 24. It wasn't until he stepped out of that fundamentalism that he could grow up into a man (see the metaphor). Simarly in my own life, all I have known my whole life is that Conservative is the way to go and that anything else is evil. I have recently been able to break away from that background and have many different feelings about issues that are at odds with many people in my life. however, this was very necessary for me to grow up and become a man that isn't held back and experiences true freedom.
Overall, it is a slasher movie with a complex and compelling story. It is not very scary, but the message is so overwhelmingly good that it makes up for that. I recommend this to anybody who wants to watch a movie that makes you think and challenges you. It's not overly scary or gory so even if you're not a fan of horror movies (or just extremely violent movies in general) you can handle this movie. Very highly recommended! My personal favorite Wes Craven film. 10/10
(Those of you who have not seen My Soul to Take, I highly recommend watching it before reading this review.)
My Soul to Take starts out with Abel Plenkov learning his true identity, which is The Riverton Ripper, the quiet little town of Riverton Massachusetts serial killer. In short, he is killed by the police in his bedroom (or so we think), and taken to the hospital. In route to the hospital, we hear dialogue from two paramedics who are talking about the possibility of why Abel murdered his family and others. The woman from the South says that where she's from, they would say he had a condition called multiple souls. (Meaning that he was filled with many souls of people who have lived before, and the evil one was doing all the killing). This sets up the premise for the rest of the movie.
This movie has a few up and coming actors in this. Max Theriot, who plays the main character nicknamed "Bug", is now a household name for horror fans (most notably known for playing Norman Bates's brother in Bates Motel). Emily Meade does a fantastic job of playing Leah (or "Fang"), Bug's sister, and I expect to be seeing more of her in the future. Nick Lashaway plays Brandon, and he has already been in quite a few more movies, such as The Last Song and 40-Year-Old-Virgin. One more notable character to mention is Paulina Olszynski, who is Brittany (the beauty queen) in this film. She has been rumored to be in the new Friday the 13th due out in 2015.
Before giving my opinion on the different aspects of the film, I want to start by saying that Wes Craven is my all time favorite director. I honestly have never watched a movie of his that I have disliked. That being said, when watching a Wes Craven horror film, there is a certain mindset you need to have before viewing it. if you want to watch a movie that will absolutely terrify you and leave you sleepless for a few nights, this is not your director. He does not make your typical slasher movies where teens have sex and get killed in creative ways. Wes's movies are always scary at times, but he always has very deep meanings to them, and I think My Soul to Take perfectly captures this, making it a typical Craven film.
You might have heard many reviews stating that this is nothing more than your average teen slasher. This could not be further from the truth. My Soul to Take carries with it a very complex story while having much more character development than almost any slasher film I have seen. To be honest, I think the camera work (especially in the classroom Condor scene), the acting, musical score (Marco Beltrami is a musical genius), and the directing are some of the finest I have seen in any slasher film. Needless to say, don't let critics deter you away from seeing this film, or even lowering your expectations for it.
This movie contains many messages that are personal for Wes and myself. It has many obvious Christian references, with the name being obviously taken from the children's prayer. The tag line for the film is "only one has the power to save their souls", which is a direct reference to Christians belief in Jesus Christ being the only one to have the power to save human souls. Wes's movies also always contain moral characters, and May is one. She always tries to do what is helpful for Bug, even though it doesn't always work, and she isn't right a lot. Penelope, who is the Jesus Freak of the movie, is portrayed in a conservative, fundamentalist Hell-fire and brimstone type. This is actually like Wes's mother, who was very fundamentalist Baptist. He grew up in this kind of strict environment, and so he is portraying his mother on screen. It's a very brilliant way to show how hypocritical various strands of Christianity and how it doesn't match the way things should be.
Bug is the most personal of all characters. Bug starts out the movie as an innocent 16 year old (as is stated many times throughout the film). As the movie progresses, Bug learns more about life as well as his own past, which makes him step out from being innocent and growing up into an adult. It has a certain "coming of age" tale to it that is prevalent in Craven films. However, this one is unique in that Wes grew up in a strict Baptist home, where he didn't even see a movie until he was 24. It wasn't until he stepped out of that fundamentalism that he could grow up into a man (see the metaphor). Simarly in my own life, all I have known my whole life is that Conservative is the way to go and that anything else is evil. I have recently been able to break away from that background and have many different feelings about issues that are at odds with many people in my life. however, this was very necessary for me to grow up and become a man that isn't held back and experiences true freedom.
Overall, it is a slasher movie with a complex and compelling story. It is not very scary, but the message is so overwhelmingly good that it makes up for that. I recommend this to anybody who wants to watch a movie that makes you think and challenges you. It's not overly scary or gory so even if you're not a fan of horror movies (or just extremely violent movies in general) you can handle this movie. Very highly recommended! My personal favorite Wes Craven film. 10/10
Friday, July 11, 2014
The Conjuring Review
I have to be honest, I'm a huge James Wan fan. Saw was great for what it was, and Dead Silence is y favorite doll movie. Insidious was one of the scariest movies I've seen in a long time, and while Insidious Chapter 2 was a step down in storytelling, Wan was still able to make it scary. With the Conjuring, Wan has his best film to date.
This movie is every bit about Ed and Lorraine Warren as it is about the Perron family's haunting. It starts out with the Warren's doing an investigation of the Annabelle doll house. At first I was confused as to why this would be in there, but then I understood it was a great way to introduce the Warren's story into the film (and it was so popular it is getting a whole spin-off movie devoted to it).
After the brief story of the Annabelle house doll, the Perron's move into their new rural home. It's the typical haunted house story where bad things start to happen not long after they move into the house. They end up finding the Warren's at a seminar and ask them to investigate the house. After investigation, the Warren's decide that things are so bad they need to perform an exorcism on the house. The mother of the family, Carolyn, becomes possessed by the evil spirit in the house. Ed Warren is forced to do the exorcism and is successful (in dramatic fashion may I add). After the successful exorcism, the Warrens return home, and the movie ends with a quote from Ed that sums the movie up (to be continued later...).
To be honest, there isn't anything new in this movie that hasn't been done or seen before in paranormal movies. The big difference here is how well it's executed. James Wan really made a masterpiece with this one. The writing is excellent, with characters that are developed exceptionally well for a horror movie. The story itself is one of the best in horror movies I have seen in a long time. The acting is really well done and believable. The cinematography is beautiful, as well as done well enough to add much suspense with different camera angles.
This is by far Wan's most impressive directing work. What's so much better with this one is that he develops a story and builds suspense before adding in any jump scare moments. When done well jump scares can have a lasting impact on you. This film they were done perfectly. The tension in this film is built up nicely as well (the score does a great job at this). One thing that is always compared in movies like this is how the exorcism scene compares with the godfather of all exorcism movies, William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. The exorcism scene has a lot more special effects and action than The Exorcist's scene did. It still did very well with keeping tension built up throughout the entire scene
One of the most notable things for me in this film is the messages it sends. The Perron family is not of the religious type (as they stated in the film). Therefore, the writers are trying to send the message that paranormal events (and even their existence) transcend our own belief system. Evil will stop at nothing to try and destroy your life, as seen in this movie when a demon tries to possess a doll to terrorize a household. Another message that is pretty obvious is that paranormal activity such as this can happen to anyone, as seen by the Perron's and with the Annabelle doll, and with the Christian belief in Jesus Christ you can overcome this evil.
The overall message of this movie can be summed up in the quote at the end of the film by Ed Warren: "Diabolical forces are formidable. These forces are eternal, and they exist today. The fairy tale is true. The Devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges on which one we elect to follow." wherever you are on your views on religious matter, perhaps we should stop and ponder these words after watching the movie.
Overall as a horror film goes, you can't get much better than this since the turn of the new millennium. It's for sure a classic film, and even if you're not a Christian and are just interested in a good story with a great message, this is a movie for you. Very highly recommended!!
This movie is every bit about Ed and Lorraine Warren as it is about the Perron family's haunting. It starts out with the Warren's doing an investigation of the Annabelle doll house. At first I was confused as to why this would be in there, but then I understood it was a great way to introduce the Warren's story into the film (and it was so popular it is getting a whole spin-off movie devoted to it).
After the brief story of the Annabelle house doll, the Perron's move into their new rural home. It's the typical haunted house story where bad things start to happen not long after they move into the house. They end up finding the Warren's at a seminar and ask them to investigate the house. After investigation, the Warren's decide that things are so bad they need to perform an exorcism on the house. The mother of the family, Carolyn, becomes possessed by the evil spirit in the house. Ed Warren is forced to do the exorcism and is successful (in dramatic fashion may I add). After the successful exorcism, the Warrens return home, and the movie ends with a quote from Ed that sums the movie up (to be continued later...).
To be honest, there isn't anything new in this movie that hasn't been done or seen before in paranormal movies. The big difference here is how well it's executed. James Wan really made a masterpiece with this one. The writing is excellent, with characters that are developed exceptionally well for a horror movie. The story itself is one of the best in horror movies I have seen in a long time. The acting is really well done and believable. The cinematography is beautiful, as well as done well enough to add much suspense with different camera angles.
This is by far Wan's most impressive directing work. What's so much better with this one is that he develops a story and builds suspense before adding in any jump scare moments. When done well jump scares can have a lasting impact on you. This film they were done perfectly. The tension in this film is built up nicely as well (the score does a great job at this). One thing that is always compared in movies like this is how the exorcism scene compares with the godfather of all exorcism movies, William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist. The exorcism scene has a lot more special effects and action than The Exorcist's scene did. It still did very well with keeping tension built up throughout the entire scene
One of the most notable things for me in this film is the messages it sends. The Perron family is not of the religious type (as they stated in the film). Therefore, the writers are trying to send the message that paranormal events (and even their existence) transcend our own belief system. Evil will stop at nothing to try and destroy your life, as seen in this movie when a demon tries to possess a doll to terrorize a household. Another message that is pretty obvious is that paranormal activity such as this can happen to anyone, as seen by the Perron's and with the Annabelle doll, and with the Christian belief in Jesus Christ you can overcome this evil.
The overall message of this movie can be summed up in the quote at the end of the film by Ed Warren: "Diabolical forces are formidable. These forces are eternal, and they exist today. The fairy tale is true. The Devil exists. God exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges on which one we elect to follow." wherever you are on your views on religious matter, perhaps we should stop and ponder these words after watching the movie.
Overall as a horror film goes, you can't get much better than this since the turn of the new millennium. It's for sure a classic film, and even if you're not a Christian and are just interested in a good story with a great message, this is a movie for you. Very highly recommended!!
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