Renaissance (2006)

Renaissance

This is an interesting animated scifi noir tale that combines the technology of Ghost in the Shell, the feel of Blade Runner, and stylized look of Sin City. It is slow to start but the sleek graphics in the movie easily keep your attention. Once the pacing begins to right itself, the plot follows suit. You begin to see the classic noir story elements emerge more clearly before too long. None of the characters were completely whole to me, but often the characters in this genre are 2D for purposes of style. I enjoyed this film quite a bit, but it is nothing revolutionary.

The Korvac Box (2006)

The Korvac Box

This was a very mediocre film. Nothing was all that good about it, nothing was all that bad. The plot is decent, the acting is fine, the directing was adequate... *sigh* solid middle of the road movie here. The plot is "slightly" scifi... I'm not sure what else to say here. 5 out of 10.

To watch a film with a roughly similar plot that is a lot better, try In the Mouth of Madness.

The Host (2006)

The Host

The Good:
This movie got started quick and kept up the pacing throughout.
A good creature feature is hard to find, but I enjoyed this one a lot.
It combined the good elements of a number of horror/scifi films in it to good effect. It had the family drama of War of the Worlds, the paranoia of an Outbreak, the cool special effects of a Relic, and parts of Mimic were also beckoned (btw, none of those movies are really that great on their own).
The characters in this dysfunctional family really grow on you.
Great ending.

The Bad:
I watched the dubbed version (I usually don't but had to this time), the voices were terrible.
A few parts just made little sense.
Some of it was predictable, but not too much.

Overall: A cool South Korean monster movie, well worth a watch if you enjoy the genre as much as I do.

The Number 23 (2007)

The Number 23

The Good:
I enjoy Jim Carrey as an actor more and more with each role he plays.
The directing was nice, especially in conjunction with the very cool cinematography and excellent editing.
It was a thriller, in the traditional sense.
The plot was very neat, not entirely shocking, but good enough throughout to keep one's attention.
The stark contrasting elements in the film were well done.
The number 23 stalks the film at every corner.
Madness, obsession, and noir, great combination.

The Bad:
Well, I might be able to come up with some stuff, but I just don't feel like it.

Overall: A good movie, not a horror like I expected, but a psychological very stylized film noir. A little bit Gothika, a little bit Memento, and a slice of Pi.

The Asphyx (1973)

The Asphyx

I do say old chap, how would you fancy a science fiction tale told in the grand Victorian style?

No good sir,just a dash of horror.

Not too much excitement, but a nice tragedy woven in with it.

Quite, quite, it's thirty-five years old.

I did enjoy it.

Captivity (2007)

Captivity

The Good:
Elisha Cuthbert is kind of pretty I guess.
Well, on to the next part...

The Bad:
Predictable.
I really didn't care in the slightest for a single one of the characters.
There were a few parts where I thought, "Physics don't work out the way you're pretending." (that's pretty bad when it isn't even a sci-fi).
The things the characters did were stupid, both those in "captivity" and the cops.
To use the word "boring" is not a stretch here.

Overall: If you really need to see an idiot's version of Saw/Hostel/Turistas, then enjoy! Otherwise avoid. I do like the poster for it I found (see above).

Blur (2007)

Blur

The acting wasn't that good, the plot wasn't that good, the things the characters did didn't make sense (especially the main character). I just want to shrug at this movie and shake my head. It isn't miserable, but its just not good.

The Call of Cthulhu (2005)

The Call of Cthulhu

This a very well-done recreation of a silent film. It holds very close to the original H.P Lovecraft tale of the same name. It's not too long either, which is a good thing because many people today can get bored with a silent film quite quickly. The effects were rather cheap but perfectly fitting with the style of movie they made. I enjoyed it a lot (but then again I am a fan of interesting film-making and H.P. Lovecraft so take what I say here with a grain of salt).

Premonition (2007)

Premonition

The Good:
This film is an interesting take on being displaced in time (it is more a emotional-spiritual question that is posed, rather than a scientific or logical one).
The use of imagery was neat in the film (blood/the color red, glass, water).
Contrasts were also executed well in the movie (science and religion, stranger and friend, young and old).
Sandra Bullock was good in it, I often don't really care for her, but she was good in this.

The Bad:
For some reason I thought much of the music was mismatched for the scenes it was in.
Some of the emotions expressed by the characters did not seem genuine (but Sandra Bullock's did).
Plot was pretty predictable.
I thought the "fade to white"s were overused.
Too many montages (yes, yes, I was watching the movie, that just happened).

Overall: It was alright I suppose. I was hoping for a lot more, but I guess I'll have to just keep thinking Run Lola Run was the best time displacement movie.

Blood and Chocolate (2007)

Blood and Chocolate

Take one cup of Wolfen and mix it throughly with your 2/3 cup of The Lost Boys. It may look a little like Underworld right now, but that will mix a little more smoothly as you stir. When it looks like all the lumps are out, you will want to throw in about 2 generous tablespoons of An American Werewolf in Paris (I personally would have added one half cup of An American Werewolf in London, but that's not what you need to make this recipe - the young people would rather have a fluffy center than the traditional thicker middle). Mix thoroughly. Top with a dusting of The Covenant and a dash of dog hair, optionally if the dog hair is too spicy, you can substitute a little The Howling 5: The Rebirth. Serve cold, very cold.

If you'd like a better recipe, I recommend Ginger Snaps.

Vacancy (2007)

Vacancy

The Good:
Kate Beckinsale is just awesome. I like her in nearly everything she has ever starred in.
Luke Wilson was good in it too.
There was a lot of very purposeful motion in the film, the camera angles and movement went well with the suspenseful nature of the film.
I like a good suspense-oriented horror, especially one with a simple plot that doesn't try to hard to be clever... I'm looking at you Saw...
The buildup in the movie is done well.

The Bad:
A few of their decisions were questionable, but that is the nature of this genre.
The interactive dynamic between the protagonists was broadcast from the first few lines.
I thought it could have been a tad longer, maybe another 20 minutes or so. I was into it and then it began its last stretch.

Overall: It was like an updated version of Psycho but with better pacing and less sympathy for the villain. The film is a decent suspense, I must admit, I was a little surprised. And as an aside, I never liked Psycho.

The Messengers (2007)

The Messengers

The Good:
This is much more a ghost story than a horror movie.
The acting was pretty good.
The film had some good, if not unexpected twists in it.
The imagery in it was executed well, especially in the use of contrasting elements.

The Bad:
The music used is more suited for a horror film, this is not really a horror film.
Some of the baiting of your curiosity is overdone to the point where you begin to say, "Who cares?"
The family dynamic in the film is a bit stilted.
I think a lot of this movie has been done before in other films.

Overall: It could have been better, it could have been worse. A little bit The Amityville Horror (without the scares), a little bit The Devil's Backbone (without the great plot) and a little bit The Grudge (I really have little to say about The Grudge, I wasn't impressed at all by it). Dead smack dab in the center of the road.

The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)

The Hills Have Eyes 2

The Good:
I always enjoy when a film pits a small military unit against some strange malevolent creatures (done most adeptly in Dog Soldiers, a must-see).
Not everything the soldiers did was idiotic like in most horror films. Some of it you might definitely question, but there was motivation there.
It was quite different from the first movie, which was a remake of a 1977 cult classic.
Some of the death scenes were original.

The Bad:
There was little in the way of plot... soldiers forced to fight mutants basically.
Some of what would normally be scares are broadcast a mile away, so the film is more of an action film than a horror (aside from the gratuitous gore I suppose).
A few characters were a little over-the-top.
No twists really at all.
A few plot points were just left off, like the director didn't care enough to bring some of the elements to conclusion.
My biggest complaint was a lot of the movie took place underground and they didn't really "use" the darkness as a feature effectively.

Overall: If you like the current vein of horror that is like the two newer Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, then it's not so bad, it's on par with the majority of that ilk. But if you want to see a good horror film that takes place underground see Descent instead, it is ten times the movie this one is.

Transformers (2007)

Transformers

The Good:
The special effects were very great (duh!).
The main characters Sam (Shia LaBeouf), Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), and Bumblebee were pretty decent.
The first 1/2 of the film was good. It had potential.
The fight sequences involving Star Scream were very cool.

The Bad:
Freakin Michael Bay man, freakin Michael Bay...
The action in many parts was difficult to follow.
The plot was bad, bad bad bad.
Nothing in the film was original. It stole elements from Independence Day, Marvel Comics, War of the Worlds, Behold a Pale Horse, and countless other already cliche sources.
I still wish the Transformers looked more like the originals, but this is just a small gripe really.
I did not have a single emotional reaction to the film.
Jazz was terrible.
Ironhide was underused.
Ratchet was useless.
Prime was uninspired.
And pretty much all the Decepticons were uninteresting and superfluous (Megatron and Star Scream were so-so).
Okay, now my big complaint. I found the film to have a strange undercurrent of a nationalistic racism. The soldiers continually yelled at the Latino in their unit to "Speak English!", there is a comment about Iranian scientists that was unnecessary and the Decepticons spoke a different language when they arrived while the Autobots spoke English (suggestive, if subtle).

Overall: Disappointment... *sigh* Seeing it on the big screen is neat, and I am glad I did, because had I seen it on DVD, there would have been no saving graces at all (the big robots were fun to see). It is not a good movie, average at best, at best.

Unknown (2006)

Unknown

The Good:
Although this movie is compared in a few places to the vomit-inducing film Cube, it takes the good ideas of Cube and executes them in a much more masterful way (ie people trapped in a place without memory of how they got there).
The acting was pretty good.
The dropped hints and little bits of information keep you pulled into the plot.
Nice twists.

The Bad:
Nothing in the film is really all that original, just done well.
The story that takes place outside the warehouse, is not nearly as interesting as the action and drama inside the warehouse. I kept wanting it to get back to the warehouse.

Overall: So much better than House of 9 or Cube, which are both along the same lines. It is definitely worth a watch, don't go out of your way, but do pick it up sometime.