Step Up 2: The Streets (2008)

OK...  It is kind of embarrassing that I actually watched this film, but what is even more embarrassing is that I actually liked it.

I have never seen the original film, but "Step Up 2" had a lot of good stuff in it.  It had characters that I cared about.  Briana Evigan plays the lead and she is really the reason why I watched this film and liked it so much.  There is something about her that really keeps my attention.  Her character is an underdog and outcast, but by the end of the film, she has it all.  Not only is Evigan a very good actress, but she is an incredible dancer.  I am not really into watching people dance, but the things that she does is pretty remarkable.  

Even though I did like the film, a lot of it was awful corny.  The dialogue was cheesy and some of the supporting actors were not very good.  There were several scenes where the ADR was very obvious and that always hurts a scene.  

"Step Up 2" has its problems.  It's not for everyone, obviously.  It may be a chick flick, but it's a good one.  

B-  I recommend it.

Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)

**

"This Is It" is a wonderful tribute to one of the most innovative and original musical legends of all time.

You will only like this movie if you like Michael Jackson and his music.  This is basically a theatrical version of his concert he was planning.  The show is put on with footage shot during his Los Angeles rehearsals.  In between songs, they did show a few behind the scenes moments.

There were some great things filmed for the concert including an all new zombie and ghost sequence for Thriller.  I really liked this and there are many homages to Disneyland's "Haunted Mansion" in it.  

There is one segment where the filmmakers profile the lead guitarist.  She was incredible.  It was the best display of guitar playing I have ever seen.

It was a real treat to see Michael Jackson in this light.  He is doing what makes him comfortable.  He is not his usual shy self.  He knows what he wants and he gets what he wants done.  "This Is It" is a perfect way to say goodbye to a legend.

B  I recommend it.

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

"Shadow of the Vampire" is a fictional story about the making of the film "Nosferatu".  

John Malkovich plays director F.W. Murnau and Willem Dafoe plays actor Max Schreck.  Malkovich is good in his role as the crazed director that will do anything for his film.  The real star of the film is Dafoe, however.  Dafoe was nominated for an Oscar for this role and it was well deserved.  He really transforms himself into this crazy vampire posing as an actor.  It is a marvel to watch.

The best scene of the picture is when Dafoe grabs a bat out of the air, bites off its head, and sucks the blood out.  It is creepy as hell.  The only thing that bugged me about the scene were the reactions of the people Schreck was with.  It didn't really seem to bug anyone else that this "man" grabbed a living creature and ate it.  I thought that was kind of strange.

Even though this is a great idea for a movie and it has some incredible acting, the film is just a little too slow.  Too much of the film was about the making of "Nosferatu".  I wanted to see more of how Schreck lives his life.  

This could have been just an average vampire film, but thanks to Willem Dafoe, "Shadow of the Vampire" is really a frightening tale based around true events.  Could Max Schreck really have been a vampire?  Did we witness real murders in "Nosferatu"?  It was a very intriguing concept, indeed.

B  I recommend it.

The Box (2009)

**

"The Box" is a very original film with a very interesting story.  It is good, but it does have its problems.

The film is extremely well done, except for the middle of the picture.  The film turns from a very good suspense film into a science fiction film that I could not keep up with.  I really had no idea what was going on.  It was difficult to follow.  Things pick up in the end, however.  

Frank Langella plays the villain of the piece and he is great.  Langella really is superb in this role.  He is elegant and very frightening.  It is no wonder he was chosen to play Dracula in the 1979 version.  James Marsden is very good in his role too.  He does a good job playing the terrified father trying to survive this ordeal.  The only performance I had a problem with was Cameron Diaz.  She wasn't terrible, but she just can't keep up with the other actors.  They were out of her league.  Plus, she had a terrible accent in the film.

The effects in the film were really amazing.  Langella is missing half of his face and it looked very convincing in every shot.  It was remarkable.

"The Box" is a very good story, even though it gets very confusing.  I'm not sure exactly who Frank Langella's character really is, but the performance is really worth watching anyways.

B-  I recommend it.

The Return of Dracula (1958)

"The Return of Dracula" is a very good Dracula film heavily influenced by Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt".

Dracula is posing as a long lost relative of a family and living with them.  His purpose for arriving to California and living with this family is so he can start a new race of vampires on this side of the world.

Francis Lederer plays Dracula and he does a very good job.  He is charming, yet very threatening.  Dracula turns a blind girl into a vampire and she is pretty scary herself.  There are frightening shots of the female vampire running in the graveyard to get back to her coffin before the sun rises.

While I was watching "The Return of Dracula" something struck me about the music in the film.  It sounded very familiar.  I was finally able to figure out that it is the same theme as "The Shining".  I later researched it and found out that it is an old tune that many horror movies use.  

"The Return of Dracula" is a very good monster movie.  I was surprised how well shot and directed the film was.  I was expecting a cheap Monogram type film, but instead it seemed to be closer to an "A" type picture.  It is up there as one of the better vampire films.  

B  I recommend it.

2012 (2009)

**

"2012" is exactly what you expect: a special effects extravaganza with world wide destruction at every corner.  It gave me everything I wanted.

"2012" is not the best movie.  The characters are not very good and the acting is mediocre at best.  But the destruction scenes are incredible.  It was very thrilling.

The director, Roland Emmerich, has directed two previous disaster films: "Independence Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow".  In "The Day After Tomorrow", Emmerich had the film more character based and only had a couple quick disaster scenes.  That film did not work at all.  For "2012", Emmerich learned from his mistakes  and gave us one disaster after another.  It was great.

The special effects in the film are top notch.  Some of the best I have seen.  There are so many special effects shots what with floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes to name a few.

"2012" is great fun if you go in with the mindset that you just want to see things be destroyed.  Don't expect to get attached to the characters.  It is not that type of film.  This is just a thrilling adventure where you want to see things break, crumble, burn, drown, and die.

B  I recommend it.

The Fourth Kind (2009)

**

"The Fourth Kind" is actually a pretty decent alien picture.  It combines supposed "real" footage with dramatizations starring Milla Jovovich.  The "real" footage was where the scary things happened.  I feel like the film would have been better without these dramatizations.  I don't really like how it cut back and forth between the two.  

Even though the dramatization is not as scary, Milla Jovovich does give a great performance.  She really is a terrific actress.

There are some very scary scenes, but what makes it scary is you don't know exactly what is going on.  Whenever an encounter occurs, the camera is affected.  You can barely make out the images shown, but it is enough to really scare you.

Yes, a few things didn't make sense.  Yes, some characters are not so good like the loud non-believing sheriff or the ultra-ugly little boy, but overall "The Fourth Kind" does what it sets out to do.  It scares an audience.

B  I recommend it.