I've never been a SAW fan. I tried to watch Saw 3, or which ever is the one where some guy was nearly drowned in liquefied rotten pig heads... and turned it off because it was a bit too much for me. Which is saying something because I'm a big horror fan.

I just felt SAW crossed a line into unnecessary cruelty at times. After that scene, I kinda questioned James Wan's mental stability and decided the SAW series wasn't for me.

In any case, I just finished watching Silent Hill, which isn't a bad adaption of the games. I remember being disappointed with Silent Hill Revelation, except for the mannequin scene. Silent Hill 3 (the game) will always be my favorite.

I'm eagerly awaiting Thor to make its way here. My youngest invited a friend to go check it out, and I work with his dad so it's going to be a Dad's and sons night out!

I remember how gross that was first time I saw it. Apparently it's Tobin Bell's favorite trap. Saw III was indeed brutal, that scene and that operation scene which wasn't cut or edited for the same reason as why they show it on televised medical programs.

Why did you question Wan's mental stability for? It's a horror franchise, what did you expect? You think this is bad? I've seen movies ten times worse then Saw. The only reason they are bad is because non-American movies don't have to follow Hollywood regulations. I've seen Japanese horror movies, French horror movies, British horror movies, Spanish horror movies. I even saw A Serbian Film which is ten times the most brutal Saw movie. That movie was insane. Banned in many countries and taken out of the stores for obvious reasons if you have seen the movie but the crew of the movie explicitly explained during the showing on the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival that everything in the movie was not real. It was all cut and edited in such an unrelentless way to make you believe it is but it's not.

Anyway I just saw Saw V & VI. On the 6th movie there were interviews with cast and crew members in which one of the producers said that everyone could come up with suggestions for new traps and they came up with a few great ones especially for the 6th movie.

First Saw V. Tradition continues as each movie keeps picking up where the other one left off. A man is strapped to a table and above him is a swinging blade. Sound familiar? Care to see what happens if you can't escape? Von Leer was pretty right. Paramedics have arrived at the crime scene where Saw IV ended to find eventual survivors from previous movies. Detective Hoffman is received as the hero. Yet the FBI-agent of the fourth movie suspects him of being in cahoots with Jigsaw and is set out to get him. Meanwhile 5 people are being called into a game. Amongst those five people we see Julie Benz from Dexter and Carlo Rota from 24. This one was received also as one of the less interesting Saw movies. But I remember when I went to see this one at the movies, I was sold after that first trap. It's the pendulum torture. A MacGyver trap!!! And this wasn't the only one. There is another MacGyver trap in that movie that shows what happens if you can't escape. Still not as great as the third but a little better than the fourth in my opinion, yet I give it the same score. 2,5 stars.

Saw VI. This one is the best I've seen. It's even better than the third. This one is as brutal as the third but it lacks the emotional part that the third had. You might even say, they finally got it right, after six movies. We begin with one of the most disturbing opening scenes ever in a Saw movie and it was just so simple. There is no need in complicated traps. Just two people and a balance. This is just what you got to see for yourself. I remember this as one of those scenes I would watch as a kid with my brother and my mom would walk in and she would say: 'What are you watching? Turn that off.' After that scene Hoffman took care of Agent Strahm, the guy who followed him in the last movie and it appears no one stands in his way any longer to become Jigsaw's successor. However the FBI is getting closer to him and another game begins with an insurance company executive. This Saw is the most serious and unforgiving of them all so far and above all it has the best traps. My favorite and most lengthy scene in the series: 6 people bound on a carousel which stops at a certain point to an automatic loaded shotgun and the exec has to decide who lives or who dies. Also the last scene where everything comes together shows great work. 3,5 stars.

Geostorm.
Dean Devlin's directorial debut. When Earth is struck by severe weather, killing millions of people, Jake Lawson designs a project to protect the planet through a network of sattelites that is being controlled by a space station manned by international coalition. Two years after the start of the project severe storms happen around the globe again that if not stopped my emerge into a Geostorm. This is pretty much a rehash of 2012 combined with elements of 24. It's nothing new but in case of boredom always nice to see. 2,5 stars.

Das Boot. Wolfgang Petersen's German epic war movie about the U-96 crew in World War II. Though the characters are fictional and so is the book where this movie is based on. We follow the crew on their mission, who spend days in a confined space waiting for orders and with nothing else to do until they are suddenly in the middle of battle. While Lt. Werner comes along as war correspondent to write about their experiences, he learns about life on U-boats. This was set at the end of 1941 when slowly everything was turning in the war in favor of the allies. Das Boot has several versions of several lengths. I have the total uncut version of 281 minutes and I'm telling you that is long. Longer than Return of the King and longer than Gone With The Wind but it is as classic as those two. A German war-movie in which the Nazis are supposed to be sympathetic? Even though with a full German boat-crew, most crewmembers are either openly anti-Nazi or indifferent. The captain however thinks not highly of the German supreme command and is more worried about his men than the mission. For those with watchful eyes might recognise the captain as Jürgen Prochnow and Werner as Ron Howard... No, just kidding, but there is striking resemblance. This is a must see, preferably the uncut version and to me one of three of the most important war movies ever made. The other ones are Schindler's List and Der Untergang. 5 stars.

Saw VII or Saw 3D. Another one with a great opening in a rare moment in the franchise. 3 people are tied in a store window. 2 guys near saws and one woman... above it. A new game starts when a man named Bobby Dagen, a Jigsaw survivor and wrote a book about it. Jill Tuck meanwhile requests protection if she is to turn over Detective Hoffman who is now hunted by cop Matt Gibson. Hoffman now begins the final game and intends to tie up all loose ends.

Though it's not the first time I've seen the Saw movies, I've seen all of them with exception of part II & III at the movies and now for the second time on dvd since 2014. I got to say even though I like Amanda Young in the movies, I like Detective Mark Hoffman even more. Despite his flaws, his sloppiness, he is one brutal, menacing, vicious, cold-blooded, sadistic, heartless sob (pardon my French). Really one of the meanest villains I've ever seen. He's like the complete opposite of Jigsaw. While Jigsaw is intelligent and even compassionate, Hoffman is not. He's sloppy but not dumb as he directs most games in later films and shows no compassion for the victims whatsoever. I never thought I would ever say this but if I want to be a bad guy I want to be Mark Hoffman. He's like the more evil righthand man like Mr. Joshua in Lethal Weapon, Clarence Boddicker from RoboCop or Richter from Total Recall. Hoffman is really unleashed in the 6th and 7th movie. I wouldn't say he's crazy but this guy will not back down from anyone who gets into his way. He will kill you without mercy, without remorse if you get too close to him.

I'd give the 7th movie, 3 stars.

Oh, I know there's worse out there. SAW just crosses a line for me when it comes to horror. I don't find gore and torture entertaining. Wan's lesser gory movies, like Annabelle, aren't very good either.

They tend to lack atmosphere and good story. The trailers always look cool, but the movies themselves have always been a letdown. I guess it's because his movies rely so much on jump scares and scary visuals that it lacks any real common sense. After watching Annabelle Creation with my sister, we both agreed that it felt like someone had an idea for a scene, and just wrapped the movie around it.

His other horror movies are okay. Nothing great. My sister and I always give them a go when they're available to rent because we're gluttons for punishment.

SAW, and movies like SAW, does make me question the mental stability of the creators because of how messed up they are. But, I'm not into shock horror. I get that some people aren't bothered by shock horror, and that's fine... but those movies are a bit too extreme for my tastes.

So what was I expecting? Better. Horror movies aren't always about gore, violence and shock. There are plenty of movies that are much better that play on one's fear of the unknown instead. Movies like the original The Haunting that doesn't show or explain anything. It's a pretty creepy movie too... even the remake was pretty creepy... well, up until they explained everything. =P Then it lost it's creepiness.

My point is... SAW, in my mind, goes too far. Alien and IT are more my speed.

Also, as I was telling my sister, I think because I'm a Supernatural fan, supernatural horror movies are less creepy because all I think of is: Someone call Sam and Dean Winchester! They'll fix it!

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If there is one 'problem' the Saw movies has is that they think they're intelligent movies, which they're not. Even though some twists were nice but not intelligent. Common sense? You don't have to look for that in a horror movie. There's no point in telling of not to go in that dark room, while you know they're going to do it. That's like saying explosions in action films are not realistic but that's not the point of that genre of any genre.

Annabelle was indeed nog great but I actually thought Creation was better.

I would start asking questions if people start doing those things in real life. That is why film is so fantastic. You can do the things, you wouldn't get away with in real life. To be honest, I would like to see MacGyver take on a Jigsaw game. But why would Jigsaw be interested in him as he only goes after the people who don't appreciate live or does something wrong he can't stand for and Mac is just so righteous of his own.

I'm pretty much open to everything, to more obscure the better but it has to be made good or at least watchable trash.

You think The Haunting was good? I thought we were talking about horror here. Saw that one when I was like 12-13 and it felt bad. House on Haunted Hill with Geoffrey Rush was better.

If you think that goes too far, you haven't seen anything yet. Try Martyrs or the 2007 movie Inside.

I'm just much more into shock horror, then scary horror. Though I like both. It's kind of hard to find something you satisfy if you like everything.

Yeah. They really are great.

Last night I went to see Jigsaw, the 8th movie. I wasn't disappointed but I was not blown away either. With new writers, a new director and new actors this one should breath in new life in the Saw franchise. A game starts with five people locked up in a farm barn filled with traps and the police try to figure out who is behind all this, ten years after Jigsaw's death. That in a nutshell. Looking back on it, I now see lots of problems, that can be easily fixed, but we are dealing with writers new to the franchise. I think it would've been simpler to continue again, where we left off. Plenty of ideas that could've worked to continue the legacy rather than starting over. It wasn't as nasty as the previous movies, not as angry and too many day scenes in my opinion. Also I kinda missed the claustrophobic feel of being inside a building with rusty traps and set everything in one night. This was the least interesting one. 2 stars.

So in total.

Saw. 3 stars.
Saw 2. 3 stars.
Saw 3. 3,5 stars.
Saw 4. 2,5 stars.
Saw 5. 2,5 stars.
Saw 6. 3,5 stars.
Saw 7. 3 stars.
Saw 8. 2 stars.

Real life or fake, it doesn't matter. It's still messed up.

And I'm very much aware that there are movies worse than SAW. That wasn't my point. My point was that SAW, and movies like SAW, are not my thing because they go too far. That includes any movie that's worse than SAW. I don't subject myself to entertainment that would require me to have therapy afterward.

The ORIGINAL The Haunting is a good movie... and certainly better than that god awful remake of House on Haunted Hill. lol

Well I have gone Back to some old movies with the first being


This thread is so big, I cannot recall if anyone has ever reviewed Back to the Future before but here it is.

For those 1% who have never seen it, Marty McFly, your average teenage kid living in 1985 gets a call from his friend, Scientist Doc Brown to meet him around midnight at Twin Pines Mall to unveil his latest experiment. But when Marty arrives, he is surprised to see that Doc's latest happens to be a DeLorean converted into a time machine! When Marty & Doc's time are cut short with the intervention of Libyan terrorists Marty attempts to escape only to be blasted 30 years...in the past!!!!

From there, Marty has to find a way back to the present without changing too much in the past. Or has he already done so???

Back to the Future originally came out back in 1985, directed by Robert Zemekis and with an amazing script by Bob Gale and executive producer Steven Spielberg, who literally made history. I still recall going to the theatre to watch it and it was pure magic. Unforgettable score by Alan Silvestri and great acting from its stars including the likes of Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Tom Wilson, Crispin Glover & Lea Thompson, Back to the Future hauls in with 5 stars IMO.

Now its time for Part II...

Bang!!! Zoom!!! It's been two years since I've seen the BTTF movies with that whole 2015 hype and saw part I & II on the big screen. They unfortunately did not show part III. They are classics and I can't even count the times I watched these movies on VHS, mostly when I was home sick from school. Over and over again. This is one of those perfect movies: script, directing, acting, score, it's all there and one of the most fantastic finales in a movie. Going Back To The Future for the first time in 1955. Thunder and lightning (no rain), wind and everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Marty's pulling up to 88 miles per hour, DeLorean lits up, lightning strikes, Back To The Future theme bursts through your speakers, the hook connects, bang!!! The DeLorean goes Back To The Future and then... silence. It's like one of the coolest endings ever in a movie. Not your typical shoot 'em up or fight 'em up scenes, this is different and it is spectacular. A must-see movie worth indeed 5 stars. And if you don't see it, why don't you make like a tree and get out of here?

The Punisher with Thomas Jane and John Travolta directed by Jonathan Hensleigh. A small but good and violent film that could've been so much more if Hensleigh received the money he needed but he had to take a major budget cut. It's a movie with a troublesome production apparently, yet the movie remains strong. Frank Castle is retiring and reunites with his family in Puerto Rico when Howard Saint sends his guys after him to avenge his son's death. Castle's entire family is killed and he is left for dead. Patched up by a family friend and moving to a little apartment he prepares the punishment for the people who killed his family. He sort of forms a bond with neighbours on his floor. The beautiful Joan (Rebecca Romijn) and the two unlikely friends, Dave and Bumpo. Meanwhile he becomes The Punisher and little by little he begins to take Howard Saint's fortune, ruining his banks, his family and his relationships. Despite the difficulties production must've had, budget cuts and rewrites, this was a pretty decent movie. A nod to the 70's revenge films and a movie with no CGI in and with familiar faces in: Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Rebecca Romijn, Laura Elena Harring, Samantha Mathis (who apparently had a relationship with Christian Slater but broke up with. She had to kiss him in Broken Arrow, saying it was like kissing her brother). Keep a special eye out for Roy Scheider as Frank Castle Sr. 3 stars.

Thor: Ragnarok. Currently I give it only two stars. I am willing to give the shared universe a decent chance. Meaning, I intend to see all the movies one time to give my full opinion on it. In all the movie wasn't that bad, good effects, good jokes, maybe a little too lighthearted but it has one of the most terrible scores I have ever heard. To me it didn't fit the movie, it was like this 90's electric score felt out of place, like this movie was made in 1995. I would say: don't waste your time on this.

For those of you who remember the 1980's game...

Nope, but I'm drooling now.

Past week, I've seen the Back To The Future Trilogy. Simply because I found the Blu-ray at a decent price. Still going through the extra's of part III with new footage, I didn't had on the normal dvd. This is like one of the most solid trilogies that I know. There is not one weak movie in it or that I would describe as the least interesting. The first one was a great adventure, the second one was like the darker middle bit, the third one was a romantic adventure in the old west. These are ones that you can keep watching over and over again and maybe keep experiencing them as if each time you watch them it's the first time. All three movies gets 5 stars in my book.

Lucky you! I haven't seen a movie in a while now. Well not really, i did sit down with my kid to watching Home Alone 2 now which he enjoyed. Not sure what is next as a Christmas movie..

BTTF are good movies for kids too. Besides it wasn't that hard, if you have like one afternoon or an evening, you can watch all three of them. All together they last about 5 hours. This time I watched them over three days. Always good times with BTTF.

I still have to get around to watching part 2 and 3 again. He's too young for BTTF now. But when he's older....

Coincidentally i did show him Flight of the Navigator and he enjoyed that!

I love Flight of the Navigator. When I was a kid, I used to call it Flight of the Alligator... apparently, I was real stubborn about it too. XD

I could have sworn I posted this, but I guess I got side tracked. ANYWAY, I saw Dark Tower over Thanksgiving. I enjoyed it! It makes me want to read the book series. My sister and her husband enjoyed it as well, though they tore it apart a bit because they read all the books.

I didn't realize that the Dark Tower actually ties in with other Stephen King books as well. Looks like I'll be hitting the library soon... XD

That's funny.

Yup. Flight was a great movie. Pity poor Joey Cramer vanished as a star.

Dark Tower was indeed a fun flick. I too have never read the books so i can see why we enjoyed it more than the readers but its definitely one to look out for in the bookstores.

I hope it's better than Thor Ragnarok.

Apocalypto. Mel Gibson's film on the end on the Mayans. Jaguar Paw is kidnapped by another tribe when his village has been destroyed and nearly his entire tribe has been killed. During the raid on his village he managed to bring his highly pregnant wife and his son into safety and goes into an uncertain fate himself. On his journey he has to learn to put his fear aside and become the hunter that he is.

This one was a very good but this is not your normal-run-of-the-mill epic movies. There is too much of the action genre in it. In fact Apocalypto is more a chase movie really. There is a lengthy chase scene and lots of scenes are without dialogue as well. But in all it was a good movie and was well received. 3,5 stars.

I finally found the time to watch a movie!
Kingsman - The Golden Circle

This time with the intervention of a new threat called Poppy, a rather psychotic female leader of a new drug ring, causes complete chaos when she destroys the Kingsman headquarters sending the last remaining agents to the US right in the hands of the Statesman organisation,the US version of the Kingsman in the hopes of ending Poppy's wrath.

Its always hard to grasp anything based on reality when it comes to the Kingsman series as half of the movie is a fast motioned Jackie Chan meets 007 flick but if you are looking for mindless fun, it will certainly deliver your cup of tea or bourbon in this case. I give Kingsman - The Golden Circle 3.5 stars.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 just came out on Netflix the other day. I watched that tonight with dinner. A friend of mine is obsessed with the franchise. lol Baby Groot is adorable!

I did like it though... but is it just me, or are these movies a tad generic lately? Kinda like the whole "epic" thing is getting a tad old?

It's just me, isn't it... >_<

Well i know the Marvel universe has been building up to the Avengers Infinity War hence the apocalyptic rise.

Managed to snag another movie this weekend. An oldie too.

Blade

Starring Wesley Snipes in the lead role that brought him much fame, Blade tells the story of one of Marvel's earlier screen adaptions (Before the shared universe) about a half-human, half-vampire who avenges his mothers death by ridding the world of its infested vampires. The movie released back in 1998 was also around the time vampires started to make a screen comeback after the success of Buffy on the small screen.

There are many flaws in this rather dated flick but it still is fun to watch if you are into this sort of genre and holds itself among fans as a cult classic. I give it 3 & a half stars. Now for Blade II...

Another tough call, yet my brother used to be a big fan of Blade. That last fight was great though.

Spielbergs next...

It looks so awesome.

Just now I saw Red Sonja. The movie starring Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger. This is sort of the third Conan movie or at least that's how it is seen. Of course it has been received very poorly and Schwarzengger himself said this is his worst movie but uses it as disciplinarian tool against his kids that if they get on his bad side they'll be forced to watch the movie ten times in a row.

In all honesty, I don't think this is such a bad movie after all. It might not be great, I agree but I wouldn't call this total garbage either. It's a guilty pleasure movie. Maybe if Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert were more ahead of their times in the 80's, this could've been called Xena Warrior Princess or at least an early version of it, which it actually is. Sonja is in fact a warrior woman seeking revenge on the evil queen that killed her family and burned her house down. When the evil queen takes hold of a huge diamond and kills the priestesses who guard it, including Sonja's sister, she sets out on revenge with the help of Calidor (Arnold), Falkon and a child prince called Tarn (Ernie Reyes, Jr. yes, Luke from Murderers' Sky).

I would give this movie 2,5 stars and a fairly positive review. Again, they don't make them like this anymore. Since this is considered as Arnold's worst movie, I figured like uh-oh because until now, not a single Arnold-movie disappointed me so far. Stallone has terrible movies, Bruce Willis has terrible movies but no matter what they say on Arnold, he always delivers one way or another. No matter how bad he acts, he delivers, as if he knows he is a terrible actor and mocks himself about it.

Me Before You. It was one that always attracted me or that might have had to do with Emelia Clarke. The seemingly emotionless Khaleesi in a romantic drama, including Charles Dance (Lannister)? It was something different to see those two getting along. Anyway, the story goes as Will Traynor (Sam Claflin) suffers a dramatic traffic accident that leaves him pretty much disabled from the neck down. Two years later Traynor is living in total isolation when Louisa who recentely lost her job is hired to cheer him up. At first he couldn't care less but eventually opens up to her silly character. She is chatty and klutzy but she has a great heart.

Me Before You is based on the novel written by Jojo Moyes that reminds of John Greene. But the movie stands very good on it's own. The chemistry between Clarke and Traynor is very present and both makes good performances. If you're into the bittersweet romantic drama movies this one is definitely for you. 3 stars.

Just attended the special screening of Star Wars The Last Jedi.

Well this is my spoiler free review so don’t worry about any reveals.

Directed by Rian Johnson & starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Mark Hamill & Carrie Fisher in her final role, The Last Jedi pretty much continues where the Force Awakens left off & there’s enough of the usual Star Wars Glitz and Glamour to keep it interesting for the whole family yet I found myself watching retreaded material of the original trilogy. There’s also a sense of separation in the characters as they all seem to carry out their own missions making their moments where they click feel so rare. It wasn’t my favorite entry that’s for sure but it was still interesting and a few surprises with many nods lurk in this entry including an old face. Last Jedi imbalances the Force so to speak but that only leaves room for what lies ahead. Highlights in this entry? Daisy Ridley shines & a new character shows a lot of heart. It still ranks up there as an impressive film and for that I give it a generous 4 stars.

Go out and watch it!

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Scarface. I think the title says enough but I learned a few more things about this movie then the things I already knew. This was also the first time I saw this movie. Written by Oliver Stone and directed by Brian DePalma starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana AKA Scarface. The movie is about the rise and fall of Scarface who escaped from Cuba to America as a political refugee and works his way up in crime. I expected this to be another Mafia film like The Godfather though it actually isn't. Scarface is a Cuban though it may seem a little weird to have an American-Italian actor play the part. Then again he played it well but I got to say at least in his rise I found him a little too arrogant, too careless and a bit too loose. Also the way Pacino pulled his mouth down and in several shots of the movie he reminded me of Sylvester Stallone. In his fall the movie actually becomes better because they seem to know they're going down and they mention it themselves: they're not hungry anymore, they're getting lazy and there is like no way of stopping it. In all a very good film if not great but not yet a masterpiece or classic. 3,5 stars.