Drag Me To Hell

Howdy.  It's been a while.  I just purchased a new movie on Blu-Ray: Drag Me To Hell.  Drag Me To Hell stars Alison Lohman, Justin Long and Lorna Raver.  The plot of the movie is as follows:  Alison Lohman is a bank employee that hands out loans to people who need them.  One day, an old gypsy woman comes in to get another extension.  The old woman's request is denied and she is humiliated after begging to get an extension.  The gypsy curses Lohman's character with the Lamia, a demon that torments its victims for three days before dragging them to hell.

Okay, so it's not the most original plot in the world.  What the movie does have going for it is Sam Raimi.  This guy knows how to really crank up the intensity in his movies.  Considering the last horror movie of his I saw was Army of Darkness(if you can call that one a horror movie).  What Drag Me To Hell also has going for it, are the performances by Alison Lohman and particular, Lorna Raver as the psychotic old gypsy.  Lorna brings a real intensity to the role.  She's vicious, but understandably so.  Alison Lohman is also very strong as her character, goes through a lot of punishment.  But unlike most horror movies, this one is tongue-in-cheek.  There's a lot of stuff in here that will make most people jump and go "Ewwwww!"  But at the same time, it's still pretty amusing.  The lengths that Lohman will go to avoid her arguably decided fate, is funny at times, even involving an anvil.  Yes, you read that right: an anvil.  The seance scene, I think is probably one of the coolest scenes in the movie.  It's very spectacular as you get to see the Lamia possess different people.

The video on this Blu-Ray disc is very exceptional.  It's extremely sharp and you can point out small details that you couldn't on standard DVD.  The sharpness of the picture certainly adds to the grossness of certain scenes, but it works.  Special features wise, there's a 33 minute Production diary featurette hosted by Justin Long.  It's very informative and there are interviews with the main cast and crew.

PG-13 movies suck.  All of them do....except this one.  Sam Raimi aimed for a PG-13 film and it works very well.  I was honestly very skeptical about Drag Me To Hell.  Now that I've seen it, I have to recommend it to Raimi fans.  And everyone in general.  It's a good movie and a good time. 

9/10

300 on Blu-Ray.

Tonight I'm reviewing Zach Snyder's 300 on Blu-Ray.  But before I get started, I'm going to let you know about the setup I'm using:  My PC.  That's right, I watch movies on my computer.  The same machine I play my games on, the same machine I surf the internet on, and the same machine on which I'm currently blogging on.  Okay, on to the review:

300 is the story of Spartan King Leonidas who takes...well....300 of his best warriors to the Hot Gates at Thermopylae.  He goes there to defend Greece against a second assault by the Persians led by the "god-king" Xerxes.  Well, anyone who has read the story knows exactly what happened. Leonidas and his soldiers fight to the death battling Xerxes' armies.  The actions of Leonidas and his men inspired Greece to unite and drive out the invaders permanently.

300 was directed by Zach Snyder, who also directed the Dawn of the Dead remake and Watchmen.  300 isn't based on the actual story.  The film was actually based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, and as a result, has a particular style to it, that I enjoyed a great deal.  It was all filmed in front of a green screen, so the backgrounds are meant to give a sense of grandeur about Greece.   300 is not realistic.   At all.  It's too stylized with an overabundance of slow-motion, which some people may find irritating.  I didn't.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching Persian soldiers get their limbs hacked off in spectacular slow-motion.

The performances are also what helped the film, to a degree.  Gerard Butler plays King Leonidas.  David Wenham: Delios.  The beautiful Lena Headey plays Leonidas's wife, Gorgo.  Dominic West plays the slimy Theron.  The performances in a film like this I think, help drives the story.  Gerard Butler is great, as he brings a nobility and strength to the role, which helps us connect with Leonidas.

I watched 300 on Blu-ray, and I have to tell you, it's amazing.  The picture is crystal clear, even more so than standard DVD, and it has all the special features of the two-disc DVD set on one Blu-Ray disc.  I'm not going to bore people with the specifics of Blu-Ray.  Overall, I give 300 a solid 9/10.  And I recommend watching it in High-Definition.  It's much better that way.

Well....that's my first review.  It's probably not much, but I'm sure I'll get better as time goes on........I hope.

A New Blog! For movies, DVD and Blu-Ray. Reviews! YAY!

This is my blog for reviewing movies, theatrical and on DVD as well as Blu-Ray.  I'll be reviewing stuff soon.  Stay tuned.....