ScreamingBlackEyedPea Reviews

Scream 4 (2011)

Well done, with a few minor issues

[8/10 · 16 April 2011]

As a huge fan of the 'Scream' series, I walked into the midnight screening excited yet nervous. This film could have been a hit or miss, a great addition to the series or a redundant, weak sequel. Ultimately, I enjoyed the film. The infamous opening sequence was hilarious, yet very brutal. However, I was disappointed that the real Woodsboro victims part was so short. It seemed to last only 4 minutes, which did not feel sufficient. The middle section of the film seemed to drag a little bit, especially the introduction to the characters following the opening. Once again, a minor issue. Once, the murders start happening, the pace really begins to increase. My final overall complaint with the movie was that it was too comedic and self-referential. There's only a certain number of times you can throw in a clever one-liner or a pop culture/horror film joke before it starts to get a bit annoying. Other than that, the film was a great experience as a die-hard fan. The ending was pure insanity, and did not end when I expected it to. 8/10

Whip It (2009)

Drew Barrymore did this one very well...

[10/10 · 11 September 2009]

I attended a screening of this on Wednesday night (the 9th) with a Q&A with Drew after the movie. This movie was superb. It was done very well. I really liked the score and the music selection (from Peaches to MGMT) was amazing. The story is really good and so realistic...it wasn't cheap. Drew said she wanted to direct this movie because it was close to her heart, and you can tell it is because of the final product. You can tell she put a lot of effort into this one. Ellen Page and Marcia Gay Harden were GREAT in this! I loved every scene they were in together...(btw, Drew was REALLY nice and answered my question). Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Drew, Landon Pigg, and the young lady who plays Bliss's best friend Pash (I forget this actress's name) were wonderful. There is everything in this movie...romance, drama, mild humorous violence, and comedy. The film also explained the sport of roller derbying very well. Good research Drew! My final rating: 9.5/10 GO SEE IT!

Orphan (2009)

Orphan

[9/10 · 22 July 2009]

GREAT! This movie kicks other horror movies' asses. It has a great plot, with secrets that you'll never guess. :) Esther is 9, and is adopted by Jon and Kate, who just lost a child. Once she starts to move in...things basically go downhill from there (in one part, things literally go downhill). The performances I enjoyed the most in this movie were by Vera Farmiga and Isabelle Fuhrman. Isabelle Fuhrman's character Esther has a great Russian accent (probably since she actually is Russian). They built up suspension so you know exactly what the extremely clever Esther is capable of. Vera Farmiga's character, Kate, is the one who everyone doesn't believe. She is the one who thinks Esther is bad...which isn't good, since Esther will take down anyone in her path.

Overall, ORPHAN was a very well done movie. 9.5/10 P.S. the fact that the movie took place in the winter was great to enhance the look of the blood and was greatly used later in the plot.

Bandslam (2009)

Great!!

[9/10 · 17 July 2009]

This movie impressed me. Far beyond my expectations.

Bandslam is a movie I thought would suck. Seriously, no joke. I mean, Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka? Wow. But on the good side was Lisa Kudrow and Summit Entertainment. I decided to go to a screening of it and decide if it was good or bad. All I can say is that if you go in thinking this movie will be completely dreadful, you'll be proved wrong. I really enjoyed it. I mean, the actors weren't great. There was some good writing in there, and they didn't really embrace what they had to work with or showcase it in any way. But they weren't awful. Lisa Kudrow was great though. Really liked her. I was completely satisfied with the ending. This movie showed the Disney stars taking small steps towards growing out of their roots.

9/10 is my final grade. Go see it.

Also, Honor Society who plays a song on the soundtrack were at the screening. They also open up for the Jonas Brothers! They went straight to the concert after signing autographs and shaking hands with people. So cool. I also won a DVD for naming their band correctly. Had a fun time.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Great. Just, great.

[9/10 · 13 July 2009]

By far, the best HP movie yet. It was dramatic, witty, and intense. I was so pleased with it. It was also VERY dark, much darker than the rest. A lot of negative things happened and kept building up, to make it a great plot. The only funny part was when Katie had that seizure thing and Ron was on that love potion. :D I just didn't get how Harry just liked Ginny (sp). I mean, I may have missed something but for me it was just like he started liking her out of nowhere.

Anyway, I completely have to disagree with the test screening reviews (even though the people at the test screenings probably saw something much different and complained to make it a much better movie, I'm guessing.) Great movie, probably the best summer blockbuster of 2009.

You won't be disappointed. The story lives up to the tag line 'DARK SECRETS REVEALED'. Trust me.

My Sister's Keeper (2009)

My Sister's Keeper - Surprisingly good

[8/10 · 25 June 2009]

My Sister's Keeper is based on the novel by Jodi Picoult. It runs 109 minutes long (perfect time, thank GOD it's not as long, dragged out and dreadful as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen). Attended a screening of this on Tuesday, and was shocked. I thought it would feature a dysfunctional family blabbing for an hour and 50 minutes for nothing. It was far from that. Story is told in a different way. Flashing between different times without being too confusing. It was a very sad movie, but wasn't depressing, rather educating about life lessons. Cameron Diaz was great in this. I usually hate her, but this is the best I've seen her in so far. Sofia Vassilieva was good as a teenager with cancer and I loved how she comforted her family. In the end, everyone in the theater was crying. Great movie. Go see it.

By the way, you should DEFINITELY see this over Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Surprised there were 800 people at the screening of that trash and not many people came out to see this great piece of work.

Overall Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

All special effects, no juice.

[6/10 · 23 June 2009]

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'. Not a great movie. I attended a screening last night, and all I can say is this is definitely not something I should've waited 1.5 hours in line for. Almost 800 people attended, and were very disappointed when not let in. They didn't miss anything but a piece of work pretty much only showcasing nothing but great special effects, and other stuff that you see in every regular movie.

This movie includes jokes that were not too funny, lazy writing, above average direction, pretty good acting, and a dragged-out story. It seems as if the people making this thought adding special effects would cover up for their other weak areas. They were wrong.

As for the characters/actors...I am SO glad Mikaela did more than stand around in this movie. She actually HELPED Sam. That is one improvement from the first movie. Shia Labeouf did a great job of making Sam much more mature and less naive than he was in the first movie.

Overall, not too impressed. Way below my expectations. You disappointed me, 'Transformers'. Wished it was more juicy.

Overall rating: 6.04/10

Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Go See It!

[8/10 · 27 May 2009]

Well....this movie is something different...sort of.

'Drag Me To Hell' is a very interesting movie. Thrills, chills, Sam Raimi, creepy old women, curses.....all of the stuff you just heard has been done in movies before, but not in the style it's done here in this film. I struggle to call it cliché, because it is and isn't at the same time (which sounds stupid). Well, let's basically say that it uses clichés in a different way. For example, the creepy old woman does haunt Christine Brown, but is as physically strong as Christine. Usually the old woman would just follow her around, but she doesn't just do that. She torments her. Sam Raimi and Ivan Raimi have in a way, twisted the clichés to make a fresh film. I don't know about you...but I like it.

At the screening I went to, everyone went crazy for the parking lot scene. I think I know why. It's funny in a way, but you're not laughing at Christine Brown, you're laughing with her. This is more a fight scene than a you-have-no-chance-of-escaping scene. It gives you a new image of horror, by mixing it with other elements and genres. I personally loved how the director (Sam Raimi) thought well there's nothing holding me off from killing a child, so why not? He's a free-spirited filmmaker. GENIUS! The movie keeps you thinking and leaves you saying "oh if only she did that" or "she shouldn't have ....". This is what good thrillers and horrors should do. The PG-13 rating didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. It was creepy, even without the R-rating.

GO SEE IT! You'll have fun and be creeped out at the same time.

Duplicity (2009)

Eh, so so. Has it's moments , others are boring.

[6/10 · 18 March 2009]

I went to a screening of this on Monday (March 16th) and this movie is a....playful, smart disaster. Tony Gilroy delivers good direction, and Julia Roberts does some well-done acting. Clive Owen's acting was nothing extraordinary or unique. He once again, plays a spy/detective person, as he has done many times before. Yet, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen have amazing chemistry. I thought the plot was below average, not awful. The flashbacks are confusing and I found myself bored at times. Script is intelligent, a few jokes. At the end, when the characters find themselves played, you feel like you've been played in the movie and have wasted time. Not the feeling most movie-goers want to be left with. My movie partner and I give this an average rating of: 5.8

Friday the 13th (2009)

Uh.......NOT good

[3/10 · 10 February 2009]

Okay, so this is the new Friday the 13th movie, and as you can expect, I'm pretty pumped. I just got back from a screening last night (feb 9th) and I am disappointed. It was just bad acting, bad plot, and extremely predictable. Danielle Panabaker is capable of doing well, but I thought her performance was quite dry. Jared Padelecki (sp?) delivered well. The sex scenes in it were totally unnecessary, and the cliché of the slut dies and virgin either A) lives longer than the rest or B) gets away KILLED ME. Some death scenes were planned well, and Derek Mears knows how to portray Jason well. The whole camping trip at the beginning was sort of dumb, and the couple that does it in the tent were so annoying and obnoxious. Direction, mediocre. But then again, my expectations shouldn't have been that high for a commercial slasher movie meant for mainstream America. To add, the film had NOTHING to do with the day FT13th! So, on Friday, consider your self lucky if you pass on this one.

Burn After Reading (2008)

Good Job, Once Again Coen Brothers

[8/10 · 14 September 2008]

Last year, the Coen brothers took us on a journey through a dark thriller, called No Country For Old Men. This year, they have gone back to comedy, with a smart, clever spy comedy called Burn After Reading. This movie was a brilliant comedy, and I was laughing so hard! The acting is great, the writing is great, the direction is great, what more could I ask for? For some of the characters to smarten up a bit. There are points in this movie where the characters are extremely stupid, but I guess that's the point. That was the only flaw for me in this movie. I'd probably say that Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt delivered the best. Most of their character's jokes had me laughing. So, seriously, go to the theater and catch this one, it's definitely not a waste of time!

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

One Word: AMAZING

[10/10 · 13 September 2008]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is probably the best remake of a Broadway musical that I've seen since Chicago. It's a slice of heaven waiting in the movie stores/theaters for you, so go see it now! Everything is well done, from the writing, to the acting, to the direction, to the cinematography. You are definitely missing out if you don't see this one. It also contains a great plot, which will have you interested, other than the dragged-out musical, Hairspray. This movie is a pure work of GENIUS! Helena Bonham Carter is dazzling, as the deceiving, witty Mrs. Lovett. And Johnny Depp is outstanding, playing the sinister, clever Mr. Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd. So, get off the couch and SEE THIS MOVIE!

Warning: This movie contains GRAPHIC VIOLENCE!

Sex and the City (2008)

The ladies are back for more 'Sex'

[7/10 · 13 September 2008]

Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. What I'm saying is you're thinking that you thought that the movie sucked compared to the show. I, will have to respectfully disagree and say no, it did NOT suck. In fact, Sex and the City was a delightful movie, and it was a great pleasure seeing Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, and Kristin Davis back together. It's been three years since the hit show ended on HBO, and the ladies are back. Carrie has continued her fantastic relationship with Mr. Big, Miranda faces some bumps along the road in her marriage, Samantha has had some trouble staying monogamous, and well, I find it sad that the only thing the producers and writers thought to do with Charlotte was --BIG SHOCK-- have her get pregnant. The movie is good, but has some flaws. It REALLLLYYYYY needs editing, yes, it is possible for this movie to be shorter, and yes, it's possible that it could be rated PG-13, only IF they edited it. Also, the characters need to be a tad more interesting, so I don't fall asleep 3/4 through the movie. Overall, the Manolo Blahnik just fits the foot, and I enjoyed Sex and the City

An American Crime (2007)

A powerful, moving piece of work...

[9/10 · 13 September 2008]

An American Crime is definitely a must-see. I was strolling around the movie-store when I came upon An American Crime. I am a huge fan of Ellen Page and decided to rent it. As I looked at the reviews for it when I got home, they all said either "moving", or "will keep you thinking for days". So, I popped it in the DVD player, and as soon as the movie was over, I was ready to cry. And I rarely cry in movies, so this one is really sad. The film contains great acting, namely Ellen Page, Catherine Keener, and that girl who plays Paula. The screenplay was great, and overall, it was an amazing movie. 9.5 out of 10. WARNING: This movie contains extremely strong and disturbing depictions of child abuse, so don't watch it if you're a very emotional person!

I Know Who Killed Me (2007)

should have been sent straight to DVD

[3/10 · 1 September 2008]

Okay, why did this movie get released straight to theaters and not to DVD?? They could've seriously saved critics some time. Lindsay Lohan and the rest of the cast did an average job on the acting, but this seriously is one of the WORST movies I've ever seen! The plot is horrible, the script is maybe a 4.8 out of ten! Actually, I'll set the record straight, this movie should never have even been MADE!!!! After Lindsay's performance in Georgia Rule, and the stories on how she was late and didn't go to the set some days shocked me. I thought, why would people want to hire this girl? She didn't really have good work ethics. Then I took a look at her filmography and noticed that she was going to be the main character in this movie. I thought, okay I'll give her another chance, and where did I end up???!!!! Writing a movie review about how this is one of the worst movies I've seen. Save yourself 105 minutes and go see something else.