my thoughts on.... 'Shuttle'

how many times have you been at the video store and saw a movie case that caught your attention, but you never rented it....? the one that sounded interesting, but you were just never in the right mood for it....? the one that good pretty damn good reviews, but that just didn't matter.... you just needed the right day and time to commit to watching it.... well, this is that movie....

i can't tell you how long this one has been sitting in my queue for Netflix OnDemand and i kept looking at it and thinking that i should spend the time to watch it.... granted, it didn't have any big name celebrities.... it wasn't big budget.... the storyline was extremely basic.... but something just was intriguing.... and the reviews kept talking about how the film stayed with them for days after they watched it.... and i love to watch a movie that leaves me thinking when it's over.... one that i keep coming back too and re-thinking over the finer points of the plot, the ending and the message....
the story starts out simply enough.... two girls are back from a trip to Mexico they're trying to get downtown and have a choice between two airport transports to take them where they need to go.... one offers a cheaper fare than the other and the girls are sold.... sadly, they made the wrong choice.... along with two other men that they met at the airport and a gentlemen that was already on the transport when they got on all head out towards their destination.... however, over the course of their trip they realize that they're not being taken to where they had planned on going.... and rapidly the trip decends into a hell ride....

one of the big things that kept coming up in the reviews i was reading is how the tension keeps getting turned up during the course of the film.... granted there are some big plot points that needed some fine tuning.... and some of what the passengers do to try and escape are flat out stupid.... but it doesn't matter.... you're so invested in the characters and the storyline that you just lose yourself in the action.... and as the story unfolds and you learn little by little what the plan is of the hijacker and how things are going to be played out.... you can't help but keep watching.... and that's the sign of good filmaking.....
all in all the storyline keep me 100% engaged and by the end i was left with a lot of questions and i couldn't stop thinking about it.... i don't want to give away the ending, but it leaves you with a feeling that you will remember.... it's not what i was expecting and i had no expectations.... and because of that i was pleasently suprised at how much it affected me....

i gave this 4 out of 5 stars for the impression it left and the emotional roller coaster it took me on.... i recommend that you watch this one with nothing else on in the background and you need to just focus on the film as it plays itself out.... this is not something to just casually view.... it's something to be absorbed and i would love to hear some other people's thoughts on the ending.... so drop me a line or leave a comment here.... if nothing else, it will make you think twice about the airport shuttle....

if you enjoy this movie, check out: i have no other movie to compare this too.... it's a film all by itself.

my thoughts on.... 'Amusement'

with my ongoing trend of watching low budget slasher flicks, i came across this little gem of a movie.... the poster was enough to gain my attention and the premise seemed interesting enough.... so once again, Netflix OnDemand provided another nights entertainment.... now, it's not your atypical scary movie.... it feels a bit disjointed and uneven, but there are enough good things about it to make it worth your time to watch it at least once....

i don't know how many of you have seen the movie 'Dead Silence' by James Wan....? he's the original creator and director for the original 'Saw' movie.... now 'Dead Silence' had a cool poster, had an interesting premise and seemed to offer some serious promise.... the first scene was genious.... parts of it were good, but on the whole it was kind of a let down as it got washed away into the bland world of horror films and cliches.... this is kind of how i felt about 'Amusement'.... it held a lot of promise, but gets overshadowed by cliches and a lack of direction....

the basic premise is that the kid in grade school that everyone thought was the weirdo and the one no one wanted to hang out with.... this is what happened to him when he grew up.... the kid that was out to shock you to get attention and the one that seemed to have a few screws loose in the head.... and the story centers around the three girls at the center of the whole situation.... and out of those three girls, one is the primary focus.... there are no name actors in the movie and that lends some credibility to the storyline.... although one of the characters from the opening scene was also in my previous movie i reviewed, 'Laid To Rest'....

alright.... now for the good and bad points of this movie.... the bad points start with the opening scene that makes no sense with the rest of the story.... although if my theory is correct and it would have been explained better, i guess it's not a total waste of time.... there are also some serious plot holes and some jumps in logic.... no too mention, i want to know where all of thise unstable killers find these awesome places to hold up and kill people with no one being the wiser....! now the good point of the movie.... and i mean the really bright and shining part involves the poster and the photo shown above.... the main character is babysitting and finds the master bedroom full of clowns.... and one inparticular is life sized and sitting in a rocking chair just looking f'ing creepy.... we soon find out that the owners have no idea where that clown came from and it just gets scary from there.... this is the one big reason i recommend this movie.... not unlike the reason i would recommend 'Dead Silence'.... one good scene can justify an hour and a half of your life getting used up....

overall.... i wasn't happy with the movie, but i wasn't totally let down either.... it's a popcorn movie and would make a good double feature with 'Laid To Rest'.... both sold 3 out of 5 star movies.... decent stories, decent gore and scares, decent acting and not skimpy on the quality of the filmaking.... not a bad way to waste some time.... and you don't have to think too much....

i think if the filmaker comes up with another good idea and spends more time developing the truly scary parts and leaving out the filler.... we might just have an above average horror film that could gain some serious buzz.... so pop it in your queue and let me know what you think.... maybe i'm jaded and over critical of it, but when i see a movie and i don't want to see the same things i've seen 100 times before.... and i want to be suprised.... and boy did that scene with the clown put me on edge and offer some nice suprises.... dig it.

if you enjoy this movie, check out: 'Dead Silence', 'Clownhouse' and 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space'