my very brief thoughts on.... 'Death of a Ghost Hunter'

how many movies are they going to make about ghosts and film them from the first person perspective....? i can't say that i'm 100% sick of seeing them, but only the good ones.... this was an independent take on those movies, so the budget was lower and the actors are unknown.... the story is somewhat original.... so that's good.... but by the end of it, i kind of wondered if it was worth the time to have watched it.... the picture on the DVD cover above was very very effective and creepy.... however, most of the other 'scares' weren't qutie up to that standard.... it was, all put together and added up, only a 2 out of 5 star movie.... possibly worth the time to watch OnDemand on Netflix, but probably not worth the time to rent the DVD....

here's what i remember about the story.... a woman is hired to go to a home that's supposedly haunted and document what she finds.... she's required to have a camera person, a reporter, and a spiritual guide.... normally she works alone, but she creates an unsteady friendship with her companions for the duration of her stay.... things start out slow, but quickly begin to unravel as they're terrorized by an unseen force.... they eventually get proof of the existance of spirits.... however, they don't learn the truth behind the hauntings until much later and by then, is it too late....?
this ended up being better than the reviews would lead you to believe.... i've seen better, but i didn't feel like it was really a waste of time.... since i can't speak to each one of your individual tastes, read some other reviews and watch the trailer.... for all i know you may really enjoy this or you might not even want to spend the time to bother watching it.... this movie is by no means going to re-write the manual on making a scary ghost movie.... but it's above par for an indie horror movie and for that i gave the filmmaker's credit.... and i look forward to seeing what they have to offer in the future.

for a similar type of movie, check out: 'Paranormal Activity', 'Paranormal Activity 2', or 'The Blair Witch Project'

my very brief thoughts on.... 'Jimmy and Judy'

the cover of the DVD for this movie declares that "This is the film that 'Natural Born Killers' wanted to be!" (the name of the reviewer is so small you can't read who said it, i wonder why).... if this is the movie that 'Natural Born Killers' wanted to be, then i'm glad it didn't get its wish.... not that 'Jimmy and Judy' was terrible, because it wasn't.... it just wasn't anywhere close to what 'NBK' was.... this movie is another in the long line of first person filmmaking.... it came out in 2006, so it was a bit before the boom hit.... but it still is a bit cliched.... i think the saving grace of thie movie is Edward Furlong and Rachael Bella.... they work so well together that they ended up getting married in real life.... they sell their rolls as Jimmy and Judy.... i can't say you end up rooting for them, but you can't take your eyes off of them.... i know that i wanted to see how they ended up.... and being a fan of Edward Furlong, it was nice to see him in a lead again.... he's an untapped talent....

Jimmy is a loner who has a secret love for Judy.... he videotapes everything that's 'important' in his life and eventually shows her his recordings of her.... and then he shows her the recordings he made of him taking revenge on the people who've hurt her.... and that seals the deal, she falls in love.... soon they leave home and begin a small crime spree across the country trying to stay one step ahead of the law.... eventually they end up at a sort of commune run by a crazy guy.... some things happen and the rest is for you to see on your own....
i gave this 3 out of 5 stars for the love affair of Jimmy and Judy.... and for the starring role of Edward Furlong.... the movie itself is not fantastic.... it's a lot of previously used ideas and sequences that are strung together into a new story.... there's not much new to see here other than the fact that it's all filmed in the first person.... i woudn't tell you not to watch this.... it's worth the hour and a half of time to watch it.... and it's available OnDemand right now.... so how can you lose....? it's not high art, but it is entertaining.

other movies that are better than this, but similar in theme: 'Natural Born Killers', 'Badlands', and 'Bonnie and Clyde'