Manio's Viewing Of: Super 8 (2011)

The unknown. I believe that's what scares us the most. If you ever ask someone why they're afraid of ghosts or aliens for example they'll say "Because they're unknown, and we don't know anything about them". Which is entirely true, the unknown scares us the most and the things we can't explain, makes us even that more terrified.

Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film, starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler, was released on June 10, 2011 in conventional and IMAX theaters. The film tells the story of a group of children who are filming their own Super 8 movie when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their town. The movie was filmed in Weirton, West Virginia and surrounding areas. So, let's talk a little about Super 8 and I'll delve deep into my thoughts of this film. Super 8 stars some "teen" actors we've never seen before, or I've never seen before and they do a damn good job. Super 8 is your typical alien movie where an alien crash-lands in a city, the army is trying to cover it up and kill anyone who knows anything about the creature. Yeah, the military are great people aren't they? Killing civilians because they know about an alien? That's just messed up. Either way, the film is full of action, suspense, and even kiddy romance! There's nothing like two kids falling in love during attacks on their town. It's a great romantic setting.

Enough of that though. Let's talk about the whole purpose behind Super 8, and what they've done with it to make it diffirent than most alien films we've seen today. The film opens up with Joe (Joel Courtney) sitting on a swingset, holding a necklace that his mother previously owned, which we find out his mother died a few days prior in an accident at the factory. Anyways, tensions begin running high and Joe starts getting upset with his father because he's preventing Joe from seeing this girl he has hard feelings for. I won't explain why, because that is a spoiler and we don't like those devilish little fiends.

Anyways, the group of kids decide to head to their local train station and film some of their zombie film, when a train gets derailed from a truck driving on the tracks, and this is when things get set into motion. The kids then leave the accident, and find out that if they tell anyone what they saw they will be killed along with their families. Eventually the film progresses quite well, and people start being abducted, and electronics start going missing. What could be taking all the electronics, and abducting all of the lovely citizens? Over-all Super 8 was a good experience, and I enjoyed every minute of the film. Sure, some of the child actors were a tad annoying, and I was hoping for one of them to be killed off, yeah I'm a sadistic asshole. However, besides that they presented the film quite well, and for me it was a huge success. So, if you're a fan of J.J. Abrams (Cloverfield, Godzilla 1998) and Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park, Jaws, E.T.) you'll love this film as it have everything a sci-fi, and monster nerd would love.

A huge thumbs up for Super 8.

Manio's Viewing Of: Hatchet II (2010)

You know what I hate more than anything? Creepy rednecks. Honestly. They just have some way of creeping me out, partly because of how many creepy rednecks I've been subjected to. The family in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, those creepy mutant rednecks from Fallout 3's Point Lookout DLC and especially the family from House Of 1000 Corpses. Everything about those things make me cringe. They're extremely creepy, and make me have a heavy distaste for rednecks. Well, not all rednecks just the creepy ones.

Hatchet II is a 2010 American slasher film written and directed by Adam Green. It is the sequel to Green's film, Hatchet. Picking up right where the first film ended, Hatchet II follows Marybeth as she escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling, killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family’s connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher. So, yeah. Marybeth (Danielle Harris) decides to go back into the swamp where the night before she previously escaped and witnessed everyone die in the most gruesome ways possible. Yeah, I can understand going back and giving your family a proper burial but really? You're going to go back into the swamp..at night when Victor Crowley is known for killing people? I'd rather go back when there's sunlight thank you very much.

Either way, Victor Crowley is all like "Fuck the tourists!" and starts butchering all the hunters one, by one. Some of this kills are incredibly gruesome and literally made me cringe with the amounts of gore in this film. Yeah, talk about a gore-fest. Either way, Marybeth eventually finds out why Victor Crowley is killing people, and she intends to stop his reign of terror for good. Sound familiar? I have to say the one kill that made me cringe the most was watching a man get his testicles sliced off with a chainsaw..that just isn't fun. At-least he didn't have to pay any money for the vysectomy. Not to mention there's an axe+vagina kill in their somewhere, be on the look for that.

Over-all, Hatchet II is an alright horror film and quite possibly one of the best I've seen in a long time. That says a lot. Sure, there's a DECENT plot in there but we all want gore, and death in our horror films and this totally delivers. People get fucked up, there's blood, guts, and a creepy looking hillbilly running around with an axe. Definetly worth your time, so I'll definetly reccomend people check this out. THUMBS UP.

Manio's Viewing Of: Dead Silence (2007)

There's just something about puppets, and ventriloquism that's always freaked me out. Dolls talking, and people making them talk. It's fucking creepy. I recently watched two horror films Dead Silence, and Hatchet II. I'll talk about Dead Silence today, and hopefully tomorrow toss up a review of Hatchet. We'll see what happens. Dead Silence is a 2007 horror film, directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the creators of Saw. The film stars Ryan Kwanten as the main protagonist, Jamie Ashen, Judith Roberts as Mary Shaw, Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Jim Lipton, and Amber Valletta as Jamie's fathers third wife, Ella. This film centers around a children's poem about Mary Shaw, and her puppets. The poem goes as such "Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She has no children, only dolls. If you see her in your dreams, Be sure you never, ever scream, Or she'll rip your tongue out, at the seam".

Yeah, it's quite the morbid poem and honestly when I kept hearing it get recited I honestly felt a little creeped out, and was like "Jesus, that's fucked". Either way, the film is about this couple Jamie Ashen and his Lisa who receive a package from an unknown person and the package turns out to be a ventriloquist's dummy with the name "Billy". After some talking, and Lisa recites the poem, Jamie heads out to get take-out and meanwhile in the apartment everything goes quiet, and Lisa is found dead with her tongue ripped out. It's morbid, and honestly seeing her corpse made me a little creeped out. You don't forget that kind of thing.

The film then revolves Jamie heading to his old home town of Raven's Fair, and finding out more about Mary Shaw and her puppets. Seeing as that was her town as well. He finds out some creepy information, and finds out why Mary Shaw has come back from the dead to kill everyone, and killing them by ripping out their tongue. It's extremely morbid, and I'll admit I got creeped out a couple of times.

If you're into films that psychologically mess with you, and scare you that way you'll like this film. Sure, they use a ton of jump scares but the psycho-logic scares are in there as well. Puppets, morgues, that kind of stuff are my major things that creep me out so I was pretty much on the edge of my seat a couple times. Sadly, you can tell James Wan and Leigh Whannell have made this film because it has Saw plot-twists tossed around inside of it, which made me automatically know that they were putting some saw-esque plot-twists into the film.

Over-all it was a fun, and extremely creepy experience and I recommend you all check it out. If you're into horror films, and over-all creepiness you'll enjoy everything Dead Silence has to offer. Plus, there's a a cameo in the puppet room if you can notice it at the end of the film. Either way, this film extremely surprised me and I was expecting a stupid, gore-fest like Saw. This film get's a solid THUMBS UP.

Manio's Viewing Of: Diary Of The Dead (2008)

I love zombies, not gonna lie. There's nothing like the recently deceased coming back to life and feasting on the living. They're like the ultimate movie monster. Sure, werewolves, vampires and mutants are cool and fun, but there's nothing like a good zombie film. I watched this film a few years back but haven't gotten to writing a review on it, so I recently re-watched the film and have decided to grace the world with a review on Diary Of The Dead.

Diary of the Dead follows a band of people making a horror film at the time of the first outbreak who decide to record the epidemic incident documentary-style and end up themselves being chased down by zombies. So, let's talk. The film is about a group of film students from the University Of Pittsburgh are in a creepy woods, filming their own horror film with their teacher, when out of no-where there are reports of rioting and mass murder. All us zombie fans can say "Hey, don't all zombie films start like this?". The film is presented to us in POV similar to films such as Pitch Black, and Cloverfield.

Eventually, the guy, Jason (Joshua Close) who's making this horror film decides "Hell, I'm gonna film this and document it. First, I'm gonna save my girlfriend." The group then heads back to the University, grabs Jason's girlfriend, Debra (Michelle Morgan) and head out to bring all the students home safely, but wait..isn't there a zombie outbreak happening?

The students eventually start realizing they need to survive, and that their families have all been killed. So, they group together and start trying to survive the zombie apocalypse and documenting it at the same time. Tensions run high, and people in the group start getting.."odd". So, let's toss this down into a simple finale, and closing if you should check this film out, or if you should avoid it at all costs. Yeah, pretty simple. There have been numerous zombie films released, and some of which are actually really, really good and constantly make me wonder if an outbreak were possible, and how would society adapt to what would happen. So yeah, there's some good zombie films but sadly, Diary Of The Dead doesn't fall under that category. It's silly, the POV thing is over-done and quite honestly annoying, the cast had some good actors in there, where-as some of the actors seemed a little..bland. Their characters didn't seem to react like a normal person would in a high-tense situation. Yeah, let's just scream randomly in this hospital that's crawling with zombies.

Diary Of The Dead had some good things about it, and it was some-what enjoyable but it was plagued with POV annoyances, and mediocre acting. It just seems like yet another cash in from George Romero. So, if you're interested in this film I'll say "Yeah, check it out. But don't expect too much". For me, this film just didn't captivate me any, and didn't draw me in like most zombie films I watch. Sadly, I'll have to say a THUMBS DOWN for Diary Of The Dead. There's just so many better zombie films out there..even Resident Evil films are a little better than this, but not by much.

Manio's Viewing Of: Red Riding Hood (2011)

Hooooooowl! Yes, that was my feeble attempt at the sound a wolf makes. Don't judge me. Let's talk about Red Riding Hood, and that tale dealing with little girls, and wolves. This film appears to take place in medievel times, and deals with the whole mythology and urban legends surrounding the mystical werewolf. Call me weird, but I love werewolf films and monster flicks. My favorites being Ginger Snaps and Bram Stoker's Dracula.

So, let's dive into RRH. With this film, Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer's Body, Letters To Juliet) tells us a little bit about her past, and how she met this young boy named Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) and how the two instantly become friends. Eventually, the movie fast forwards about 10 years and we find out that the town of "Daggerhorn" is being terrorized by a werewolf. Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) and Peter decide to run off, and enjoy their lives together when the town's alarm starts sounding, announcing that the Wolf has attacked. The victim turns out to be Valerie's older sister Lucie, and the family greaves and a group of villagers are sent out to hunt down the beast, and slay it.

Eventually, the film picks up, people start dying and blood starts flying. I won't say this film is magnificient by any means, or that you should check it out, but I enjoyed it. Plus, I have nothing against a werewolf film. I love them, except for the crap that was portrayed in Twilight..bleugh. Red Riding Hood is a good film, and you should find yourself enjoying it, if you're into the whole carnage, and people getting torn to pieces kind of plot. However, the film does seem to throw in some plot twists here and there and we soon find out why the werewolf is attacking the village, and why he wants Valerie alive..

Red Riding Hood is roughly an hour and 45 minutes long and flows fairly nicely, however I was getting bored near the end. If you're into this kind of flicks, and love seeing blood being shed then you might enjoy this movie. My thumb can't decide, so there's two verdicts. If you're a fan of werewolves, and just want a blood-soaked, monster fest than thumbs up. However, if you like movies that have a good plot, and won't bore you with stupid horror cliches, and most importantly like some-sort of character development then you won't like this film, so a thumbs down if you're on that field. Myself, I'm joining the thumbs down team. Sure, the movie had some good ideas but it just fell flat trying to pull them off.

The twists made no sense, and the character development was atrocious. I never saw myself caring for any of the characters accept Peter, because he reminded me of one of my friends, that's about it. So, my recommendation is stay away.

Manio's Viewing Of: House Of Wax (2005)

Pole impaling Paris Hilton's head, wax melting, and creepy hillbillies in a ghost town. What more could you want? I was very skeptical about watching this movie, and worried that it would be full of Hilton's horrible acting, at-least I was right about that. Let's get down to the brass tacks though, and what everyone is thinking about. What did Manio think of House Of Wax, and if I haven't seen it yet should I?

The film was released in 2005, so it's about 6 years old. This is one of the first films I've seen Elisha Cuthbert in other than her role in Popular Mechanics For Kids, and The Girl Next Door. So, let's get down to business. House Of Wax is your typical horror-film, riddled with cliches. The film starts off showing us a family, but no faces and a child freaking out his high-chair before his mom smacks him right across the face, ouch.

Eventually, time fast forwards and we come to modern day time with a bunch of friends driving to Dallas (I think) to see a football game. Nothing too interesting there, football just isn't my thing. Either way, the group decides to take a break and camp out before continuing the last few hours of their trip. While camping some creep pulls up in his truck, people yell, and somebody tosses a beer bottle causing the guy to drive away. Eventually, the next morning Elisha's character's boyfriend finds that his car is broken down and needs a new fan belt (Oh no! A horror cliche!). So, Elisha and her boyfriend head into town with a creepy hillbilly after he disposes of some deer carcasses in a pit. I don't know about you but I wouldn't ride in a truck where a creepy looking hillbilly hauls around dead animals, that just screams rape scenario.

Either way the couple make it town and start exploring the wax museum where the wax figures look realistic. Move ahead about half an hour or so and the carnage begins, and the friends find out that the town is being run by the two maniac brothers from the beginning, and continuing the legacy of their mom's wax sculptures by killing people, and covering their corpses in wax. It's fucking weird, and morbid. The film is extremely predictable, and right from the start you'll be able to pick out some cliche's used in most horror films nowadays.

I definitely don't recommend anybody watch this film. It's boring, and just way too predictable. However, it does have Paris Hilton getting a pole impaled through her head so that could be seen as a shining moment for this film, whereas everything else just blew serious ass. I will say that this is one of the worst horror films I have ever seen, total disappointment but I wasn't expecting much considering Paris Hilton is part of the cast. Thumbs down!

Manio's Viewing Of: X-Men: First Class (2011)

You've all probably seen some X-Men films, whether it be the original three (X-Men, X-Men 2, Last Stand) or Origins: Wolverine. Each of these films tried bringing some of our favorite mutants to life, and quite honestly most of them "failed" in a sense, well for me at-least. Sure, I enjoyed some of the films besides Last Stand, that film was a pile of garbage in my opinion.

But, hey enough of me rambling. Let's get down to what everyone wants to hear about, and know about. First Class is basically the story of what happened before the X-Men, and gives us some delightful back-stories on some of our favorite characters. For example, what causes Magneto to create the Brotherhood and make him that insane, pissed off person we know today. Or, why is Charles Xavier wheel-chair bound?

Let's get down to business. X-Men First Class starts off really well, showing Eric (Magneto) getting brought into a Nazi concentration camp, and being told to move a coin. Eventually, something angers Eric and he goes on a rampage, and from what I was aware causing this to be the first experience to cause Eric to go down his "dark" path. I can honestly say I quite enjoyed how they developed Eric, from his childhood up until his adult years, and moving up to become Magneto and the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants.

Now, for someone like me who isn't too involved in X-Men, and the story behind it some of this confused me. Like, why is Mystique living with Professor X, and why does she end up hating the X-Men and fighting for Magneto? Some of these questions floated around in my head, and I couldn't find the answers. Now, I reckon some of the more "smart" X-Men fans would be able to comprehend what was happening, and why. Unlike myself. I also seemed to find more favorite characters, and began attaching things together in the universe.

For example, when I heard the name "Alex Summers" I instantly thought, "Hey, I think that's Cyclop's brother". And sure enough, it was and here we had Havok make his appearance. This isn't going to be an in-depth, fantastic review telling you how much I loved this film, and why you should go out to the theater and take a look. All I'm saying is, if you love good movies and are needing the little push to say whether or not this film is good, well I'll tell you. This film is really great, and really captivated me and drew me deeper into the X-Men universe.

Everything that was presented made me happy, and I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Especially seeing that cameo in the bar-scene made me smile. So, I highly recommend you go check this film out, and you'll leave satisfied, which I left feeling like. This film definitely get's a huge THUMBS UP.