Blu ray movie review of Zombieland

Zombieland does a very good job of imitating the 2004 horror/comedy classic Shaun of the Dead. This is not a knock down Zombieland. Before Shaun of the Dead, there have not been very many horror comedy films. In fact, Shaun of the Dead spawned many clones that tried to copy the success of the cult classic. None has succeeded until now. Zombieland is without a doubt a very funny movie worthy of being compared to Shaun of the Dead. Like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland packs in incredibly funny moments in a very classic horror setting.

The story is not atypical in horror films. The world is turning into a wasteland thanks to a virus that turns people into zombies. We’ve seen this scenario in countless other horror movies. Two main characters, Tallahassee and Columbus form an unusual bond. Tallahassee is the gun toting mad man to Columbus’ geeky underdog character. They both set out to survive in the wasteland and reach a place where it is safe from the flesh eating zombies. Along the way, they meet Wichita and Little Rock and head toward west.

What sets Zombieland apart from the other horror films is the comedy. Sometimes you forget you are watching a zombieland. Instead, movie delivers funny scenes throughout the movie. From opening scene to the final scene, Zombieland consistently delivers laugh out loud moments like running into Bill Murray or the funny rules about surviving in the new zombie infested country. Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson are perfect as two unlikely buddies slaying zombies left and right. This is without a doubt one of the funniest movies to come out last year. Everyone who enjoyed Shaun of the Dead should not miss this movie.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Orphan Blu ray movie review

Orphan was a pleasant surprise. The trailers suggested another horror/thriller movie featuring a creepy little child murdering everyone. There has been influx of horror films featuring a young child as the main evil character. Orphan deserves to be considered one of the best amongst them. There’s something to be said about a small girl going on a murderous rampage. It’s more scary and creepy at the same time. Director Jaume Collet-Serra’s decision to cast Isabelle Fuhrman as the lead was stroke of genius.

With exception to the small twist toward the end, the plot is very straight forward. The audiences aren’t kept in the dark about the malice nature of Esther. We see from the early on that this little girl is bad news. And, the director or the writer doesn’t try to hide it any way. It is not a thriller/horror film that challenges the viewers to guess who the real bad guy is. John and Kate decide to adopt two years after Kate gives birth to stillborn girl. They end up adopting Esther from an orphanage. Things start to go bad at the school and at home. Esther pits everyone against each other. Kate sees her for who she is while John tries to protect Esther. The suspense and violence is nothing new. But, the little twist at the end and the performances make the movie very watchable.

A lot of the reviewers might consider this a “B” movie. However, it is unfair to label this movie in such manner. While it is fairly derivative, the performance and overall execution is very well done. The performance by Isabelle Fuhrman in this movie has been compared to Natalie Portman in The Professional. Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga are both very good actors in their own right. This is definitely one of the better horror/thriller movies of 2009.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Blu-ray HD movie review of 28 Days Later

At a first glance, it’s easy to dismiss 28 Days Later as just another zombie horror fest. The gore and zombies are present in the movie. However, one of the most startling and striking scene in the movie is the London devoid of its population. Danny Boyle does well to elevate this film from a mere horror movie to a great cinema. There are biting social commentary and human condition set against zombie infested England.

The story starts out with environmental nut jobs attacking a lab that tests various viruses, including the rage virus, on the chimps. As most of you can guess, the chimps are set loose and the virus spreads to human. At the first sign of devastation, we see Jim, Cillian Murphy, wake up from the hospital to empty London 28 days after the initial release of the virus. From this point on, he meets up with few other survivors including a man and his daughter. They head out to find other survivors as well as head out to place where they can be saved. The second half deals with some surviving military man and their twisted sense of law. The second part of the movie really shows what some humans are reduced at their worst. Danny Boyle could have easily made another Dawn of the Dead, which was good in its own way, but he sprinkled in a lot more than just slash fest horror film.

I’m a big fan of Danny Boyle ever since the Trainspotting. He puts his own spin on the zombie genre with some intense psychological horror as well as physical horror. The acting and writing was spot on and the direction was top notch as well. It’s shame that the sequel did not live up to the standard set by this film. Overall, any fan of zombie movies or Danny Boyle should not miss this gem.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to buy above blu ray movie at 20% off or more on Amazon.com!!

Blu-Ray dvd movie review of Let the Right One In

Lately, the horror scene has been dominated by slasher remakes and Asian horror film remakes. Let the right one in is a breath of fresh air in somewhat stale horror genre. The Swedish film was directed by Tomas Alfredson and adapted from John Ajvide’s book. The film takes conventional vampire/romance film and adds a twist in the form of coming of age story of two leads.

The story is about 12 year old Oskar and a girl named Eli. Oskar is constantly bullied by his classmates and secretly fantasizes about killing them in his spare time. One day, Eli and her dad movies into his building and he has chance to meet with her. From early on, audiences are let in on the secret of Eli’s nature. Oskar befriends Eli and they soon hit it off. In a chilling scene, Oskar finds out the true identity of Eli. The rest of the story revolves around the relationship between the two kids and their problems. The interaction is quite touching at times and really brutal at others. It’s really a stark contrast between one moment to another.

The two leads are the only real characters worth noting in the film as the story revolves around their relationship. The rest either end up being food source for Eli or just passerby in Oskar and Eli’s world. This film has garnered a lot of praise and awards in the film festival circuits. I think any horror film fans should see this film. The Blu-ray version does come with the original Swedish sound track. Don’t settle for terrible dubbed version. I’m not sure what’s scarier, the growing up pains or having a vampire for a girlfriend.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to buy above blu ray movie at 20% off or more on Amazon.com!!

Blu-Ray hd movie review of Dracula

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Dracula is one of the finest modern horror films. The film plays the “what if” Vlad the Impaler was real and survived to the setting in the film. The character Dracula is based on a real person, Vlad Tepes, who was a 15th century warlord. He supposedly drank the blood of his victims after they were killed. He even impaled his victims from anus up. These bits and pieces of myths and truths were put together by an Irish writer named Bram Stoker into a horror tale. Francis Ford Coppola has taken this tale and put together a beautiful film. It’s a movie that transcends the horror genre.

The story is about the Dracula who has been cursed to survive the death of his love. He wanders for 400 years and falls in love once again. He finds Mina Murray in 19th century England and falls in love. This is starts what is arguably more love story than horror story. There is Shakespearian tragedy written all over this star crossed pair. This isn’t to say that there are blood and gore. There are plenty of that.

This is star studded assembled by Coppola. Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, and Gary Oldman as Dracula all give Oscar worthy performance. Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves weren’t as famous and Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins. Yet, they hold their own in their roles. There is really nothing to say about directing as Coppola delivers a stunning film.

This isn’t just another slasher horror flick we see these days. Everything from costume to acting is fantastic. One complaint might be that it is little longer than it needed to be. There were some parts that could have been shortened. Regardless, this is one of the best horror films in last 50 years.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to buy above blu ray movie at 20% off or more on Amazon.com!!

Blu-Ray dvd movie review of Event Horizon

If you have not watched Event Horizon in recent years, you might be surprised to learn that it was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Most of us are familiar with Paul Anderson's Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, and Alien versus Predator movies. And, most impression would be that those movies are fairly terrible at best. Only Resident Evil might be passable as semi decent movie. On the other hand, Even Horizon is a masterpiece. On the surface it looks to be a science fiction film but it's really a horror film set in space.

Set in mid 21st century, a crew sets out to find out what happened to a space ship named Even Horizon. This ship is built for faster than light travel. To achieve this, the ship carries a device capable of opening up a black hole that could connect two parts of the space. This ship goes missing after the first test flight. Seven years later, it appears near Neptune. This prompts a rescue mission via Lewis & Clark to find out if there are any survivors. Once they dock with Event Horizon, the crew experience strangeoccurrences. One by one they all experience shocking events and events from their past.

The acting is superb for a horror film. You usually don't get such talent as Lawrence Fishbourne or Same Neill for a horror film. Unless it's really good script. The supporting casts are as good as they can be. They need to look scared 1/2 of the time and shocked the other 1/2. All of them do those two parts exceptionally well.

Some have complained that it is hodge podge mix of genre masterpieces like Hellraiser and Alien. While there are certain elements that resemble those movies, Event Horizon stands on its own as a great horror movie. It does it with building suspense and creating a suffocating atmosphere throughout the movie. Being on space ship, you can almost feel the closeness and claustrophobia felt by the crew members. This is without a doubt a best film directed by Paul Anderson. It rightfully deserves a Blu-ray treatment as it is a classic horror film in my opinion.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to buy above blu ray movie at 20% off or more on Amazon.com!!

Blu-ray movie review of Romero’s Diary of the Dead

George A. Romero is known for one thing, the zombie movies. If you're a horror fan, you are well aware of his Dead series involving zombies. It would not be a stretch to say Romero invtented the zombie movie genre that has been copied many times over past decades. Even if you don't know who Romero is, there is good chance that you have watched one of his zombie flicks. So, it is no surprise that Romero has once again delivered a solid zombie flick with relevant message for the time we live in.

The movie grabs you from the start with little bit different feeling than the usual Romero zombie flick. The camera work is from the perspective of home movie made on camcoder. You see the movie through the camera work of a character and not the director. Although the movie is viewed through the camera point of view, it is not some cheap, shaky affair you might come to expect from these sudo documentary style movies. This camera work adds to this movie not detract from it.

Like in many horror films, the character development is sorely lacking. Also, the acting is not exactly top notch. This movie is filled with cliched characters. Cliche' characters are not the worst thing to inhabit horror films. But, the shaky acting job done by the cast is some what of turn off. Little better character development and better acting would have helped this movie.

Overall, the movie does not offer too much zombie action. The biting social commentary on today's voyeuristic society is well displayed in this movie. Ultimately, it is commentary on the issue and not much of zombie, horror fest.

hat do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to purchase above blu ray movies at Amazon.com and save 20% or more!

Underworld Evolution Blu-ray movie review

If you enjoyed the original Underworld, than you will most likely enjoy this film. The movie is more or less shaped from the original and does not stray too far from the successful formula. That's to say this movie contains decent plot and lots of fighting sequence. Nothing to write home about but it does not try to be anything other than entertaining flick.

The story and plot in this film not as good as the first one and that is to be expected second time around. We get little bit more on the background of the war between the two races. I won't spoil the plot but there are meaningful back end to the over all story. With little more background story out of the way, the rest of the movie dives into the action scene after action scene.

The over all pacing was very good, the dialogue was adequate nothing earth shattering. The questions asked in first and second installments are faithfully answered. There is no major cliff hanger moment or story line in the end. The story line while thin, was quite enjoyable.

Kate Beckinsale delivers a great performance and Scott Speedman was half decent. Both delivering a performance that made me believe they were who they said they were. And the supporting cast around the two main stars were all equally up to the task. If nothing else, you get pretty compelling performance by Kate Beckinsale. She seems to comfortable playing the vampire type.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to purchase above blu ray movies at Amazon.com and save 30% or more!

Horror classic The Shining on Blu-ray

It's well know that Stephen King didn't like Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. King stated that Kubrick didn't fully understand the genre of horror. Kubrick decided to pass on the typical gore or Omen style horror in favor of more psychological approach. You don't get people here jumping out of the dark time after time to slash another person. What you get is slow build up of dread followed by violent burst toward the end.

Plot is fairly simple, Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall's characters are hired to take care of a hotel. Slowly, Nicholson loses reality and goes after his own family.

One of the most significant aspects of this movie is the physical and psychological isolation felt by the entire family in the remote hotel. The film starts off with a lengthy scene following Jack as he drives up to the old hotel for his interview followed by the living condition of isolation felt by the family. The viewers can feel the isolation and growing uneasiness building toward the end. The scary part is that this can happen in reality. That people can lose it like Nicholson. There are no buckets of blood and retarded contraption. It's just pure dread and mood built on isolation.

Overall this is an excellent horror movie with worthy acting job. Kubrick does great job portraying the isolation and the mood of the film. It's a must see for any horror film fans.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to purchase above blu ray movies at Amazon.com and save 30% or more!

Blu-ray movie review of The Descent

The Descent is a scary good film. This film seperates itself from the copycat prom slasher films that inundates the theater these days. with very small budget, the film maker and the cast have produced a polished if not closed to polished horror film. The film packs in top class gore with pretty good costumes and effects in a very claustrophobic setting.

The movie starts off with an all-girl team of adventurers and friends find themselves trapped in a cave system infested with strange looking blood-thirsty monsters. It has been done before you ask? Yes. But the execution and acting is superb compared to the run of the mill B movies. The direction is excellent and captures the sheer terror and helplessness of being trapped in very claustrophobic surroundings. The entire mood of the film feels like your trapped in with them. Other than that, you really don't need to know much. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

I found the environment of The Descent to be star of its own. I tend to be claustrophobic so I found the movie's environment to be scary in it self. The gloomy, and damp cave play host to some crazy horrific creature, both physically and psychologically. Add in the gorefest and it's pretty effective horror film.

What do you think about this movie? Please leave your thoughts below.

Click here to purchase above blu ray movies at Amazon.com and save 30% or more!

Next Page »