Insidious Review
Posted: June 18, 2011 Filed under: Film Reviews | Tags: Insidious, James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Patrick Wilson, Phantom of the Opera, Rose Byrne, Saw, Watchmen 2 Comments »
Image by LaryCrews via Flickr
Insidious, was the one film I was craving to watch this year since seeing its creepy trailer and hearing its wide speculation. From director James Wan, who mastered the Saw series along with many other horror films, and writer Leigh Whannell, who again wrote and starred in the Saw films, any horror enthusiast would be dying, excuse the pun, to see this film.
The film tells the story of a couple, Patrick Wilson (Watchmen and Phantom of the Opera) and Rose Byrne (X-men: First Class and Troy), who are plagued by demons, ghosts and other strange supernatural entities, after their son falls into an unexpected coma. The story takes some mad twists and comes to a conclusion using a phenomenon I genuinely did not expect. At first, this turn in the story made me question the plot line, until after having watched the film, when I realised that this is a widely discussed phenomenon that causes massive speculation; a friend and I spoke about it for hours. The film finishes in dramatic fashion, really pushing the audience to the edge of their seats, along with the famous twists that Whannell is famous for.
When the film started I was a bit skeptic; the opening scenes drag on a while and use vintage graphics. However, in my opinion, this film did offer more than most horror films of today. I do not jump or scare easily when it comes to movies, yet this film did have me off my seat more than once. Clever camera angles and musical scores allowed comfort zones that when the surprise comes, it hits you twice as hard. This film really had me on the edge of my seat for many scenes, in the anticipation of another moment for my heart to race. However, at certain points I felt the director could have done so much more, or even less with. I found one particular scene, which put a bit of a silly twist on to the most known demon. This didn’t only mock the mysterious, and therefore scary, figure, but allowed me to be over familiar with it, leading me to be less scared of its presence.
This disappointment didn’t sway me off the film too much though. Wan and Whannell have done particularly well at making a jumpy film, which leads people to really enjoy the movie. I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed the movie as an experience so much, that I watched it twice at the cinemas. As much as I enjoyed the film, I cannot help but think that I would not have the same experience watching the film on my own television than on the big screen. Fair enough, if you have a big tv and a decent surround sound system, but I believe this would be needed to actually enjoy the film.
Maybe I am wrong, and I do truly hope I am, as I think this film deserves more credit than a lot of people give it. Insidious is, to me, one of the best horror films of the last couple of years. I would recommend anyone to go see this movie, especially people who love to be startled, or want to see a peer or partner leap out of their skin. I do think that some scenes ruined the film a bit, however not enough for me to forget the genius work towards the beginning. Lets just hope the makers do not create a ruined sequel which they are infamous for.
iHartMovies rating 4 out of 5.
By Ash Seward-Morris
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1996: Trainspotting
Posted: June 18, 2011 Filed under: Monumental Movies | Tags: Danny Boyle, Drugs, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Heroin, Jonny Lee Miller, Kevin McKidd, Robert Carlyle, Slumdog Millionaire, Trainspotting, Trainspotting (film) Leave a comment »
Cover of Trainspotting (Ws)
Trainspotting, focuses around the character, Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), who, whilst living in Edinburgh, becomes taken in by the drug scene, becoming addicted to heroin. The story portrays Renton’s life, and how he tries his best to escape the life of a drug addict, despite major influences affecting him for the worse, including his friends, and of course, drugs.
The movie begins, showing the day-to-day lives of Renton and his friends: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), Tommy (Kevin McKidd), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). This movie is a great portrayal of drugs, and how they can ruin lives, adversely affecting relationships with everyone around you, especially with family and friends. Together, Renton, and his friends, each with their own erratic and drug-dependent personalities, live their lives, finding money through any means necessary, so they can get another ‘hit’; except for Tommy, although he soon becomes a bit too curious about the enjoyable effects of heroin..
After realising that his friends and surroundings, along with the drugs, are destroying his life, Renton eventually, after failed attempts, gives up on heroin for good, and moves away, living in a new house, with a job. But his friends soon find their way back in to his life and eventually, begin dragging him down once again.
The movie ends with one of the gang finding a huge amount of heroin for a surprising price, and instead of using it, they sell it, to try to make a fortune. However, things don’t turn out great, with Begbie,who, being the crazy person he is, ends up beating a man in a pub for accidentally bumping into him, whilst in the process, slicing Spud’s hand. Renton, from seeing this, along with many other events through his life, comes to realise that, apart from Spud, these people really aren’t his friends at all. Renton then ends up stealing the money, which seems fair enough, seeing as though he paid for the heroin in the first place due to Begbie pressuring him to do so. He then walks away with the money, and begins a normal life, like he once imagined.
The movie is full of classic scenes; particularly when Renton decides to go ‘cold turkey’, with a very interesting insight into what a heroin addict experiences when they instantly give up heroin, showing just how dependant an individual becomes on such a drug. Also, the scene in which Renton takes an overdose and almost dies, is a very capturing and emotional scene, combined with Lou Reed‘s song, ‘Perfect Day‘. The movie is full of scenes which draw you into the whole concept of a drug addict’s life, allowing you to almost experience the emotions and viewpoints attributed with, although seemingly enjoyable at first, an incredibly unfortunate lifestyle.
Trainspotting, has a dark and dingy outlook on life, through the eyes of an habitual drug user, turning to drugs to try to escape this dingy view on life, but soon realising that their addiction is in fact, making their lives worse than they could have imagined. There are many movies which delve into the lives of drug users, many of which often seem to be disappointing and inaccurate portrayals. However, Trainspotting, has a realistic and empathetic expression of it, and this is helped with the great acting from the cast, along with the directing skills of Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours). If you haven’t seen this movie, it’s definitely one to put on the ‘Movies to Watch Before you Die’ list.
By Manpreet Singh
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