Change Your Image
beforethedawnhealsus
Reviews
Halloween (2007)
Better than I thought!
First off I just want to say that I am a faithful fan of John Carpenter's Halloween. It's minimalist style and suspenseful scenes really captured a mood that most films never seem able to attain. It had one goal and it set out to complete that goal and succeeded. It will always be a classic for me and I'll love it for years to come.
With that said, I went into Rob Zombie's Halloween with an open mind. For me there were many thrills of going to see Halloween '07 in theater. I sat with my boyfriend, who does not like horror films in the least, and I told him before the movie starts that I hoped that the audience would react a lot to add to the experience of watching a Halloween movie in theater. And sure enough, they did react quite well to the scares of this film (as did my boyfriend).
The first ten minutes or so were hard to stomach in my opinion. It was nothing but profanity after profanity laced with TOO much sexuality. But I understand the point that was trying to be illustrated here - defining Michael's childhood. Oddly, Michael is one of the only caring individuals in the household and seems sensitive and impressionable. But over time, his experience growing up in that household takes its toll and he snaps. And this is where the film really becomes interesting (and gruesome).
From the time he commits his first murder, the sense of what Michael Myers is was found. And the next couple of kills were definitely brutal and eerie. Especially when it comes time for him to kill his sister Judith. The rest of the prequel set of the film was enjoyable to watch from here on, and when we get to the re-imagining set of the story, I began to feel at home. The story moved at a reasonable pace and the acting was pretty solid. I actually must commend Scout, she did a fantastic job of updating her character of Laurie Strode. She emoted her experience well.
There were a lot of deaths and occurrences that were different from the original which made it feel fresh. But the classic elements of the timeless story were here, which was exciting to see on screen once again. The last 15 minutes or so were definitely where the suspense came in, which had been lacking for most of the film. And it was this part that truly had me glued to the screen. There were some nice surprises and Laurie really came off as an independent person who became her own heroine.
The added element of the brother-sister relationship between Michael and Laurie that was thrown into this version of the film really created more of a sense of continuity of the original story that was lacking in the first (for obvious reasons). And Michael's intentions were a lot more abstract, which made it far more interesting to know what drives one of cinema's greatest killers.
However, the movie definitely had it's shortcomings, and may not be the classic that John Carpenter's Halloween is, but it definitely reinvigorating a dying series and I hope that future installments definitely have a set story in mind so we can get one cohesive story. This movie definitely is a great companion to the original and is no doubt the best movie in the series since the original. Well worth the view.
Brothers & Sisters (2006)
A Fantastic Show
When Brothers & Sisters was about to premiere, I was eagerly anticipating it, though I had my doubts I was going to stick with it in the long term. However, that's totally not the case. This show shines as a crown jewel in this years television season.
The cast is wonderful and they all contribute such an amazing talent to making us feel as though the Walker's are truly brothers and sisters. The interactions between Kitty and Nora are always great to see, as are any scenes that Sally Field and Rachel Griffith's are in. They bring an amazing emotional depth to the story that definitely adds to the great writing that is turned out by the amazing writing staff.
Overall, this series has earned it's keep. I think I may have teared up once per episode so far. The family acts very much like a family through it's ups and downs, and it truly is moving. If you're looking for a new show that entertains you, moves you and brings you top notch acting, then Brothers & Sisters is definitely a show that you should be tuning into. You won't be disappointed.