Paranormal Activity

This was soooooo much fun! This movie makes you tired from how tense you are throughout the hour and a half. The acting is very natural and real. The actors look like normal people and not playboy models. The setting and relationship are all very real. So that's a great start. The plot is nice and simple but not stupid which allows you to concentrate on how scared you are or will be. Now I'll admit, it didn't scare me very much, but the company I shared didn't even want to walk to their cars alone after the movie ended. My husband left in the fight or flight mode and is just now cooling down. I love that they leave the demon up to your imagination (it's always scarier that way). I've heard the film was made for just $11,000 but they made that money work! I give this movie a solid "A". It's a must see.

2009 Last House on the Left

First I want to admit that I have not seen the original 70's version of this film. With that said it's a hard one to rate. It's basically the story of a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time. The "kill" her and leave the scene to find shelter and end up at the home of the unfortunate girl. Her parents welcome in the weary travelers. She pulls herself to their doorstep half alive and it's revealed to the parents who the guests really are. So I actually find the plot to be very interesting. When I decided to watch it it was because I wanted to see how parental vengeance could play out. Usually it's the bad guys with the upper hand and I was interested in the tables being turned. The cinematography wasn't anything spectacular but wasn't poor either. The characters and acting were pretty good. The overall film was ok. I have a couple of issues with it though. First, there is a very graphic rape scene that literally made me want to cry. I don't like them and I think implying them can often be just as effective if it needs to be included at all. I was watching trying to figure out why anyone would agree to this scene and then realized it was the vehicle that would ultimately make you have no pity when the bad guys got theirs from the parents. Next issue...I wanted the dad in particular to be %100 bad ass when it came to protecting his daughter. Instead it was pretty much luck that he finished them all off. Even the father's ultimate revenge in the very end didn't seem severe enough for what I had to endure during the scenes leading up to the action. Overall I give this film a D+. It didn't scare me as much as it just made me mad but it did at least muster up some emotion.

Stepfather

So this is a movie about a man who comes into the lives of a family whose father has been out of the picture for some time. The son is just home from military school and sees how much everyone loves this new guy but the son has his suspicions. Turns out the suspicions are valid and the stepfather is a murderer. Overall the movie is pretty predictable with some jumpy moments. Oh wait, I haven't seen the movie. I've only seen the 4 minute preview that lays the entire movie out for you. After the preview you can feel satisfied that you know the entire plot and don't need to bother seeing the hour and half show. I guess I can't really rate the movie but I give the preview a D.