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melinalives
Reviews
Reeker (2005)
Actually sets out to entertain and works!
Take Sam Raimi, John Dahl, blend it up with a little John Carpenter and a dash of M. Night Shamalan (too much can ruin any dish) and you?ve got a fair approximation of the style and tone behind REEKER. This is not hardcore horror by any means. But it is a good ride and just smart enough. Tina Illman plays Gretchen, a bit of a hard ass who is driving a group of strangers through the desert. Mysterious circumstances land them at a deserted rest stop. Strange things start to happen. Devon Gummersal plays a blind guy who finds the corpse of a deer in the motel office. Scott Whyte plays Trip who runs into Michael Ironside on a deserted road. Ironside is looking for his wife who has disappeared. Eric Mabius plays a crazed x medical student who may or may not sleep with corpses. ArielleKebbel plays Cookie who while on ecstasy starts noticing something foul in the air? Let the body count begin. The performances are all top notch ? solid special fx ? a pitch perfect score that owes more to classic Bernard Herrmann compositions than today?s atonal drones. Director and writer David Payne has elevated what may seem on the surface as more typical horror fare and created something fresh. It?s nice to see an independent movie that doesn?t have it?s head up it?s own artistic ass and actually sets out to entertain. 3 cheers for Reeker.
Kids in America (2005)
I like this movie!
I went to an early screening of this movie and I really liked it! Although the film could do with a little editing- it was an early cut I believe- the first time director got some great performances from his talented mostly no name cast. It's one of those films that has some low budget problems but the film's heart is so in the right place you easily over look them... the two leads were very good as well as a stand out performance from Julie Bowen as a mean ambitious principal... overall a really great first effort by all. The story, based on real life incidents, takes place at high school where the aforementioned Julie Bowen resides as principal. She is running for state school superintendent and has begun a crack down on her students- her policy- much like a high school version of the Patriot Act- inspires a number of students to rise up and protest in very creative ways. This film hopefully will be an inspiration to many. Wait till the very end credits to see some very interesting documentary interviews with the real students the film was based on. Really hope this one gets a distributer. Certainly seems like an easy fit for an MTV youth type audience.