Insidious 2 - The perfect sequel

Now it is rare that i will shout about a horror film from the roof tops and it is impossible to find a sequel to a horror which is as good as the first film. But Insidious 2, my my how good it is.

Insidious was my favourite horror of all time, creepy, jumpy, scary, it had it all and I gave it a 9/10. So naturally i was excited and nervous upon hearing a sequel was being released. 'It can not be as good as the first can it?'. After waiting for a week after its release we finally decided to go and see it and put our minds at rest. 

The trailer looked promising. I have to say it was a very clever, very scary, masterpiece of horror. Everything fitted into the first film perfectly and was very cleverly done. There were several points where we were like 'omg so thats why that happened in the first film!'. I do have to say however you must watch the first before the second! The scare factor was a good 9/10, I was nearly crying in parts - the tension was just too much to handle! Similar creepy music was used just like in the first film, that alone was enough to make you scream. A good horror is a rarity so well done James Wan for this superb sequel. 

Overall rating: 9/10

Random Review - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

So if you don't know what this Random Review thing is about then read Rosie's post below first.

The random number generator generated number 70 for me! A much better film than Rosie's 49 but still an incredibly hard film to review because I love it so so much!

Rosie and I watched this in February after a period of average films starting at number 63 (Ghost Ship, Stay, Tell No One, We Need to Talk About Kevin) so it was refreshing to see an amazing film! It's such an emotional yet funny film, all done with taste, and the film has great messages and values. Every single character is interesting and all the cast are amazing and this film was a worthy winner of the 5 Academy Awards it won. I fought long and hard for this film to win Best Film at the 100th film Awards but that award went to Django Unchained, however this one won Best Story. The ending had me speechless. I cannot fault this film whatsoever.

Random Review - The Unborn

The idea of this 'Random Review' is that myself and Ollie both get a film to review by putting its number into a random number generator.

Uh oh, what a bad film for a random number generator to generate.
So i now have to review The Unborn, here we go...

We saw this quite a while ago, film number 49 to be precise, and it was one of those 'oh lets get a  film from the film cupboard' which we do when we cant be bothered/don't have time to plan a film night. We actually watched this so we could have our 50th Rollie film awards; it was a 'filler film'. The Unborn is a typical what myself and Ollie call a 'bullshit horror' (excuse my language). Basically we watch them for the scare and nothing else. And I suppose this did give us a scare, and definitely nothing else. The little boy who appears as 'the unborn' twin is creepy. I really don't have that much to say about this film, as you can probably see. It has an unusual story which is nice from a horror flick, but has very average acting.

Overall rating: 4/10

The Trouble with Rollie

(A review of 9 Hitchcock films by moi)

Hello! After seeing 'Vertigo' on Monday for the first time, I thought I'd review all the Hitchcock films I've seen, and rank them! We've only ever watched 2 Hitchcock films on film nights but he is one of my favourite directors and a couple of his films are some of my all time favourites! Without further ado...

9. A Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Most disappointing Hitchcock film to date, unengaging and drawn out. The story revolves around an uncle who comes to visit his niece, who begins to suspect he has committed murder. The whole film is boring up until the end sequence, which you can see coming a mile off.

8. Rebecca (1940)

Another one that falls a bit flat but it's hard to see why. There's too many irrelevant scenes and too little of the really effective hauntingly beautiful/scary scenes of Rebecca/the previous wife in the mansion. Rebecca's psychotic maid really is a scary character and there are many disturbing things about this film, but sadly, although an odd film, isn't one of Hitchcock's best.

7. Rear Window (1954)

Hitchcock's supposed masterpiece - for me, disappointing. It's look into human privacy is interesting but the film itself is boring and the romance is unnecessary. Thrilling, but not that thrilling.

6. The Birds (1963)

Typical Hitchcock and one of his few films (perhaps as well as Psycho) that can be actually considered a horror film. Terror left and right and the film provides no explanation which makes it even more terrifying. The story is about a woman who follows an attractive man to a small town, but this subplot is soon forgotten when birds attack the town, killing the residents. Very suspenseful, so many times you think something scary is about to happen, but it never does, which actually improves the films quality.

5. Veritgo (1958)

A private detective spies on his friends wife who he says is becoming possessed by an old family spirit. My latest viewing and a mixed bag - the first half of the film is great, a brilliant story, well filmed and a great score too. Something very different too, especially the dream sequences and clever ghost story. However the second half of the film feels sloppy and is slightly boring. I just really didn't like the ending. Overall though, quite enjoyable but quite overrated.

4. The Trouble with Harry (1955)

The only trouble with this film is that Harry is dead - but seriously, there's not much wrong with this film, one of Hitchcock's few dark comedies. In a small town, Harry is found dead, and somehow everyone in the town thinks that they killed him...Very funny, quick paced and mysterious, this comedy surpasses a lot of Hitchcock's more serious films for me.

3. Rope (1948)

A very short film, made to look like it was shot in completely one shot and also filmed in real time. It's about two friends who kill their college classmate and their attempts to 'perfect' the crime by having people round for tea with the body hidden in the dining room. With lots of hidden symbolism and motifs and a homosexual undercurrent, Rope is both extremely enjoyable but also very clever.

2. Dial 'M' for Murder (1954)

The story of a man who hires a hitman to kill his wife who has to come up with a Plan B when the murder goes wrong. Grace Kelly are brilliant in this brilliant dramatic thriller, so intriguing and engaging, every little detail you're listening to, and its just so unbelievably clever. A clever twist on a whodunnit story, it's almost reversed. An extremely memorable film and one of my favourite films.

1. Psycho (1960)

A young girl travels to a motel. I think most people know the rest and I think you knew this would be my number 1! Just everything about it I love, Marion and Norman are such interesting and amazing characters, the screeching score, the set, the story, the lines and subplot, the twist, even little scenes such as Marion seeing her boss as she's fleeing town and giving him a terrified embarrassed smile make the film. My favourite film, probably ever.

Ollie x

A Film Club Experience

Last night we ventured to the cinema to go to Louth Film Club's screening of 'Vertigo' by the great Alfred Hitchcock. And we loved it, not so much the film, but the whole Film Club feeling. There is a little rating system after each film and a poster created to show the average score out of 5. At the start of the film a man made a speech and I was very surprised as to how many people were there; the busiest I have ever seen the cinema in fact! It was so quaint to be a part of, sat in a sea of mostly over 60's, and we are definitely going to start going more.

So now onto Vertigo. We were both expecting a lot from this film, its a classic and has recently made it to the top of a list of the best films ever made or something. I was very let down by the film however. I do understand that it was probably the first of its kind and that's why its so highly regarded, but i think if the director was unknown it wouldn't be as highly placed as it is today. I felt it went on so long. The first half was good but after about 1hr 20mins there were several parts where i thought 'oh good its finished' but then another scene came up, and another. This could be due to the extreme heat in the cinema which i wanted to get out of, or the uncomfortable seats, but I think mostly the film itself was to blame. I would rather watch Psycho for the third time then ever see that again. Ollie did enjoy it a little more, I rated 3/5, he 4/5 on the cinemas scoring system.

Overall a very nice night and something we will be doing again in 2 weeks time.

By Rosie.