Movie Junction

The horror genre has been on a downhill slope for the past couple of years, mainly due to filmmakers’ propensity to use excessive sex, gore, CGI, and violence, while forgetting the use of the rudimentary horror elements that made horror movies, such as “The Sixth Sense” (1999), “The Descent” (2006), or “The Ring” (2002), stand out. More so, the horror genre has become a mishmash of other genres. However, all is not lost in the genre, and I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me in a recent, relatively unknown horror movie, Ti West’s “The House of the Devil” (2009). After having reviewed “Saw VI” earlier this week, it was interesting to compare the stylistic choices employed by the filmmakers of both films, and the choices differ greatly. Made with a relatively small budget, Ti West’s “The House of the Devil” reminds us of the old monster house movies of yesteryear. A college sophomore, Samantha (Jocelin Donahue), is desperate for quick cash to pay the rent on her new apartment. She...

“3 Idiots” is a Bollywood movie released in December, 2009, in the U.S. (with English subtitles) and India . Aamir Khan is slowly becoming a savior for Bollywood. The beleaguered Indian film industry for the last two years has faced diminishing returns at the box office. In 2008, during the Christmas week, “Ghajini” was released to a resounding box-office success. The movie generated record receipts at the box office and became the number-one grosser of all time for Bollywood. Fast forward to 2009, and it is Christmas time again for a new Aamir Khan movie, “3 Idiots.” Adjusted for inflation, “3 Idiots” is on a course to become the biggest blockbuster in the Bollywood history, surpassing “Sholay” (1972) and “Ghajini” (2008). Just like “Ghajini,” “3 Idiots” has provided the necessary impetus at the box office and created a semi-revival of the Indian film industry. “3 Idiots” tells a simple of tale of three friends, inexorably connected during their college days at an engineering coll...

The team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, who directed flicks such as “Crank” (2006) and “Crank 2: High Voltage” (2009), are back again, in a rip-roaring, mindless action flick, “Gamer” (2009). All three movies have a common attribute in their storytelling in that the main protagonist is fighting to stay alive through a series of macabre, violent events. Nothing has changed since their last effort, “Crank 2,” and this time it is bigger and more badass than ever before. In one possible alternate future, Ken Castle (Michael C Hall) has a spawned a world of real-life gamers where a team of condemned criminals called “Slayers” are trying to survive thirty deadly levels, at the end of which only one player will survive. Any player surviving the thirty rounds will receive a full pardon for his crimes. One such super-soldier, Kable (Gerard Butler), has survived twenty-seven rounds and is almost at the last leg to his freedom. However, he decides to go against the system. Meanwhile, in ...