Paranormal Activity is a film written and directed by Oren Peli. This film was first ever showed to an audience in 2007 at a film festival. Since then, Paranormal Activity has been popping up here and there at various film festivals and getting word of mouth by people who have seen it. Here it is now, 2009, and Paranormal Activity has been officially released to a very limited amount of theaters. This Indie film has had a long journey, but now it's finally released. For most people, there probably isn't a theater around them in America that shows this film - but no worries, it is now official that October 16th is the big day for this film and it will be released nationwide. If you're unlucky enough to have it not released at a theater near you, hopefully you can wait for another week.

So anyways, about that film... It's being described as one of the scariest movies ever by a lot of people, but I would not say it's the scariest film I've ever seen, but it was definitely creepy and got me nervous many times. I've seen a lot of messed up things in life, so it's not easy to scare me anymore; but to make me nervous and cringe at the edge of my seat, then the film has done the job right.
I certainly understand why this film is so scary for many people. It's just so realistic, and it's hard to believe that I just paid to watch people act the whole time. It didn't feel like acting at all, it felt just like what the film intended it to be: with a couple under the suspicion of strange activities going on around their house at night and one day felt like filming around their house to see if they could pick up any disturbances. The film was so realistic, that when the movie finished, a guy across the theater asked: "So wait, was this real, or not?" -- That might have been a stupid question to ask, but I think that question alone just shows that this film is about as realistic as it gets and doesn't fall under the typical cliches that we're used to seeing. We don't need constant blood and guts and shock value with CGI monsters to creep us out. Those gimmicks just get boring after a while. It's a good thing that Paranormal Activity didn't go for any of that. Paranormal Activity really focused on the quiet moments of horror. I think it's the quiet moments that effect people the most. Humans are not meant to relate real life with things popping up constantly in your face - we much better relate with the quiet things and the sense of wonder of what could possibly be the meanings of certain things. I think that's where this film is most effective and is able to really disturb a lot of people.

Overall, Paranormal Activity, is what I would think, is definitely a film that does something good for the horror genre. It's good to know that the horror genre isn't completely dead. I think most mainstream film studios should seriously take a look at what Paranormal Activity did and try to learn a thing or two about what is really some of the most basic, yet effective horror techniques. 8.5/10

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is the latest computer animated film (That is based off of the children's book of the same name) released by Sony Pictures Animation.
Computer Animation has become a very profitable medium over the years. We see so many of these films nowadays, that one can't just make a computer animated film anymore and expect people to like it. As this medium of animation continues to grow, so are the people - and audiences will no longer accept cheap gimmicks seen rehashed over a hundred times. As for Sony Pictures Animation, they learned it the hard way when they decided to hop aboard the CGI-Train with Pixar and Dreamworks. Their first film, Open Season, was a failure. It lacked a valued story, original characters, and ultimately the heart of what makes a computer animated film good. Since then, they've made other efforts, such as Surf's Up. moving on from there, Sony really had to change their game plan a bit if they really wanted to capture the hearts of audiences and be truly respected like other computer animation companies... So here we have today: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Did Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs deliver, or did it hit low standards like Open Season? -- I think it surely delivered the goods. This is one of those rare films that will really come out of left-field for a lot of people. It's such an unexpectedly awesome movie for me.
It really was just surprising for me when I saw just how good it was... And previously I thought it looked stupid based off of the trailer.

Well, this movie certainly is stupid -- but in a good way. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is a very silly name for a movie (And book), so you gotta expect that it is a very silly movie with a silly premise... It really is, silly at its core. In a way, it felt like a really fun Saturday morning cartoon (One of the good ones, like Looney Tunes or Mickey Mouse). But don't let that intimidate some of you who don't like such nonsense... This film also had a lot of heart and a story that was entertaining all the way through.
The film is very funny - quite possibly the funniest film I've seen all year... I just kept laughing all the way through.

In the end, I think Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs will be one of those unexpected gems for a lot of people. Don't come into the theater expecting a very serious film; because if you do, then you will see the film wrong. If you come into the theater just wanting a fun and lighthearted film with lots of smart humor, feast your appetite on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs is quite possibly one of the best non-Pixar computer animated films I've ever seen (And that says a lot for those who know how pro-Pixar I am). 9/10

District 9 marks the first ever full-length feature film delivered by Neill Blomkamp - and he sure did deliver. District 9 is a science-fiction film that is based off of Blomkamp's short film, "Alive in Joburg". There is so much to District 9 that was never shown in the previews that it would be hard to describe it without spoiling it. So with that said, District 9 is just a film you have to see for yourself and see why people are loving it.

This film was awesome. It definitely exceeded my expectations 100%, and that says a lot for me because I was always skeptical about whether or not it would be good. Well I finally saw it and it definetly was good.
It felt like a video game -- a really, really good blockbuster video game that everyone would play. You don't get many good sci-fi films these days, luckily this one was good.

The violence was really over-the-top. I wasn't really expecting District 9 to be as gruesome as it was. The ads and the previews never gave away just how violent this movie would be, but I'm saying straight up that you will see some giblets flying through the air here and there. It definitely makes sense why this film is Rated-R. The action was overall intense and fun to watch. It wasn't so action-packed to the point where you don't know what the hell is going on. The film knew what it was going for, and it portrayed it quite well.

The story was surprisingly good. The story took and unexpected turn from what I was expecting based off of what was seen in the previews. I don't want to spoil it, but there's definitely a story to hold up the entire film - and I just love it when an action movie can also have a good story. Those kinds of films seem rare these days.

Overall, District 9 was most definitely the best action movie I've seen all year, and quite possibly the best sci-fi film I've seen in a long time (Sorry, I still have yet to see Moon, so I can't say how this would hold up with Moon). If you love your action and science-fiction movies - or love movies in general, District 9 begs for some attention. 9.5/10

The Hurt Locker is the definitive Iraq war thriller, and is Directed by Kathryn Bigelow. The film follows a team of U.S. soldiers who are trained to locate and defuse explosives that are scattered around the streets and city locations. With that, this film provides two hours of intense modern warfare scenes that are as suspenseful as cutting off the final wire of a fuse that can equal either life or death for the soldier up at front. This could be a fingernail bitingly good time.

I would like to say this up front: I am not a war film buff. I'm not the kind of guy who has been particularly blown away by films like Saving Private Ryan -- and this film is no different; but, I can say The Hurt Locker was a pretty damn good film that was as realistic as it gets. The Hurt Locker really gets you at the edge of your seat when things get tense, and you really feel like you're there with the soldiers when they're experiencing emotional withdrawals. I won't spoil the film, but for those of you who saw the film may know what I'm talking about with the emotions going around the group when a kid was involved. It was some pretty deep stuff, and rather unexpected and shocking.

The hurt Locker doesn't try to tell as story about history's past, nor does it try to tell some made up space war story that takes place in the future -- The Hurt Locker stays on its ground at our time and depicts the reality of the Iraq war as close as it could get. It's probably the closest some of us will ever get to the war without ever going there. That's special.

While I did not think The Hurt Locker as the most amazing film I've ever seen, I think it left quite a mark in my mind with what it was trying to do. This is not a film that you're meant to watch over and over again as if it's your generic action movie. This is a movie that's meant to put you in someone elses shoes for a month's time, and feel the pain and the fright that they're going through. Once you finish the movie, that's all you need for a good while to keep some of its images locked in your mind. I think The Hurt Locker succeeds in that area and it will really make you think how much life sucks elsewhere, and that your life is not as crappy as you love to say it does.

Like I said at the begining of this review, The Hurt Locker is the definitive Iraq War film. I don't know how many other films were based off the Iraq war, or if there is any others to begin with -- but that doesn't matter, The Hurt Locker will be remembered for what it did, and is something everyone should see. 9/10

I'm mostly bored today and felt like making a new blog, so...
Here we are coming into August, the eighth month of the year. We really got only five months left of 2009... Time sure flies, I gotta admit. It felt like just the other month I saw Coraline in theaters... but I really saw it at the beginning of February. Well, since then I've seen a pretty decent amount of films in the theater -- and many of them were good, and some were bad; but ultimately, 2009 has been a fine year for movies. We've seen the reboot of an old sci-fi favorite, Pixar has delivered yet again, Sam Raimi made a good horror film, and we've seen a plethora of good independent films. But alas, 2009 isn't over yet, and I feel like there are still some good films to look forward to... So with that said, I'm going to go through some of my most anticipated films for the rest of 2009, and see how you guys compare with my choices.

Here we go!...

4.

District 9 (August 14, 2009). When I first heard of District 9, I honestly didn't know what to think of it. I wasn't sure if this was a film that I'd actually want to see in theaters. Well, several trailers later, I think I'm finally convinced that this film might just deliver. Some good people are making this film, and they seem very excited about this film. It looks like it will be an intense sci-fi film, and that's not something we get all that often. Here's hoping that District 9 will be a kickass cinematic experience.

3.

Nine (October 25, 2009). 2009 very well is the year of the nine's. Over the years, the movie industry has gone through some pretty wacky crazes. At one point, movies about fish were a big deal... Another point in time, everyone went crazy for penguins... But this year, the number seems to be all that. When I first heard about this film, I actually confused it for another film coming out. I'm not joking. At first I did not know there was a difference between "Nine" and "9", but apparently there is a major difference between both of them in movies. But anyways, why am I looking forward to this film... Well A) This film is Directed by Rob Marshall, the same guy who Directed Chicago; and B) Daniel Day-Lewis. Carrying on.

2.

The Princess and the Frog (December 11, 2009). Now I know a lot of people are skeptical about this film because Disney probably hasn't made a good traditionally animated film since the 90s, but I really think this one will change that. Disney is VERY excited for this film. Disney doesn't normally get that excited for a film, unless they know it is something good. Plus John Lasseter (Head of Pixar) has been praising the film like crazy. You got yourself the two men who Directed films like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid, and this might just be the rebirth of hand-drawn animation.

1.

Where the Wild Things Are (October 16, 2009). Why did I put this film as my number 1? Mostly because of that trailer. The trailer alone has sold me to go and see this movie. There just seems to be so much magic and heart put into the film, that it would make any grown-up whimper back to their childhood memories and all the adventures they had. Added the fact that this film is based on the beloved children's book of the same name, and the fact that the Author of the same book is praising this film as if it's his own child. That gives this film more than enough reason to be excited. Hopefully it's as good as the trailer. I'll be counting down the days for its release.

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So that's that. Those are pretty much the big films I am looking forward to for the rest of the year. Is there any film you feel I forgot or should have added? Let me know. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my choices. All comments are appreciated.