Insidious

I know I'll get butchered by some for the title, but the tension in this film was stupendous. At all the right times, in all the right places, the scares and thrills are there. Sure, it's a hodge-podge of Poltergeist, Exorcist and Paranormal Activity, but each aspect of those movies is accentuated to produce a genuinely frightening combination.

After a family of five moves into a new home, it takes little time to realize something is wrong. Items move, doors close. When one child falls into a coma and the mother hears what sounds like Vin Diesel growling in some Gaelic dialect over the baby monitor, it's time to move despite the fact the father is a disbeliever. Unlike the Jefferson's, moving on up doesn't work for this family and the frights return like ghost herpes.

While creative license was necessary to move the story along, the astral plane concept is not completely embraceable. Nonetheless, the rest of the movie hits on all cylinders. Visually there isn't a lot, but what is presented works very effectively. All the scare techniques (e.g. eerie noises, well chosen music accompaniment, quiet-to-loud shocks, quick reveal scares) are expertly crafted and executed. Epic timing on more than one occasion. None of the actors really stand out, and a few (a Ghostbusters reproduction) were somewhat silly, but Lin Shaye must be recognized for her interesting performance as a medium who ties the entire movie into a sleep-stealing knot.

Impressed from beginning to end by this movie, I applaud the return to old fashioned, suspenseful horror that doesn't need a teenage sacrifice in a brothel, hostel, or abandoned building. Not saying I dislike those, but Insidious is good for the change of pace. The second half of the film is much slower than the terrifying first half, but if you've recently asked yourself, "Whatever happened to the slow build up?" Watch this in a dark theater with a great speaker system. Guaranteed thrills.

The Company You Keep

The criticism of this movie was originally started by the press's talking heads, with them only knowing the movie's topic and Redford's politics.

I am conservative who is organically suspicious of the press and it's motives, regardless of the side they come down upon. So I went to see it anyways, mostly because I wanted to see a particular actor's performance. I AM CONVINCED THE PRESS MISSED THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE MOVIE.

This film does not glorify terrorism. Quite the opposite. It shows how a person can cross the line from being an "activist" to being a felon/terrorist. It is sort of a retrospective of an activist's two lives - one he had to abandon once he crossed the line, the other, the second life he had to build afterward. In both cases, the focus of this movie is more on the private price he paid and simultaneously pushed off onto loved ones to avoid paying the public price for his acts.

The reader must understand that Sloan was guilty of some felony activities, but NOT the murder of the bank guard. His crimes, if caught, were worth some jail time, but not a life sentence for murder.

If a member of my family was considering becoming an activist, I would want them to see this movie. This would be their chance to understand that the actions they initiate could go awry and/or be twisted by others and spin out of control. This could easily leave them with consequences they would be forced to live with for the rest of their life, and JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, exact a greater price upon all their loved ones. People should carefully weigh the costs against the benefits.

I recommend this movie to all conservatives and all liberals and everyone in between who wanted their loved ones to make informed choices.

This is a VERY tightly packed movie, hardly a word that isn't important to the development of the plot. I like Redford movies because he tries to make his point the "old fashioned" way, without car chases, gun battles and funny sidekicks. This movie does need a bit more tension and rage at one particular point, but that's about the biggest flaw I saw.

Just so you know, Redford, 76, is playing the role of a mid-60 year-old, and, without giving away a major plot point, there are good reasons why he has a young daughter. Now, it is up to you to see this film and figure out why. (SPOILER ALERT! I've enclosed MY thoughts on why in comment #6 at the bottom of this review.)

By the way, this movie has a lot of great talent in it, and they each do very well for themselves and the presentation of the movie's theme. There are 14 class act performers, plus one. This would be a hard cast to play against, but "plus one" did a super job in her first movie role. (See comment #1, if you are curious.)

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation

CBS messing with time slot running this season's shows late. That messes with DVR recording. Now all this season's shows are recorded short the last 15 minutes! Would rather pay Amazon than CBS-TV (who wants to bill 5.99 per month to watch shows!)

CBS...listen up! Why would I pay YOU on top of Cable/Satellite? Get real! Advertisers pay you. Viewers shouldn't!

The Mentalist Seasons 7

Only the first 2 episodes have aired so far of what will be just a half-season to wind up the series. This is promising to be an extremely memorable finale for a series that is head and shoulders above any I've ever seen. I have all the DVDs and look forward to the final set for Season 7. This is one show that is rewarding every time I watch episode again and sometimes again and again. More nuances become apparent that increase the depth of the story line. The acting is outstanding, the story telling is creative.

There is humor, drama, suspense and tragedy played out on a crime of the week platform. It's a work of theatrical art. The most remarkable thing about the series is the character development of Patrick Jane, played by Simon Baker. This is as award worthy as anything gets.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell-bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches...their past.

Sophie's Choice

I watched "Sophie's Choice" not knowing at all what to expect. I assumed that the "choice" would be something commonplace in a film, like a choice between two lovers. When I found out what the choice really was, it made a very deep impression on me. It was the most gut-wrenching thing I have ever seen, in the movies or in real life. The scene is unforgettable. The emotionless evil of the SS officer offering Sophie the choice is highly disturbing. The man is extremely cold, almost Satanic in the evil he radiates. The strange thing is that he is not physically ugly-at first I thought the part was played by Alec Baldwin.

This is easily the best portrayal of the Holocaust I've seen on film, much better than "Schindler's List." The evil of Auschwitz is so all-encompassing, so icy and devoid of emotion, that I can't help but think that it is the closest thing to Hell ever recreated on Earth.

Also, Meryl Streep's performance is by far the best I have ever seen in any film. Her virtuosity and technical brilliance are unmatched. One reviewer compared it to DeNiro in "Raging Bull," and I have to agree. The supporting performances are excellent, especially Peter McNicol who is indispensable as the narrator. The one flaw I found with the film (and probably with the novel as well, although I have not read it) is Stingo's (the author's) highly self-conscious fixation on sex. I thought that it was irrelevant to the story. To anyone who feels that the film is too slow-paced, I say keep watching action movies until you grow up and leave superb films like these to people emotionaly mature enough to appreciate them.

On the whole, I would rate this among the best films I've ever seen. Definitely don't miss it!

Major Crimes Seasons 3

I really try to like this show, but it seems that the writing staff must not have worked on The Closer, and maybe hasn't watched enough of The Closer to really know the characters. The magic that Flynn and Provenza had in The Closer is gone. Their charm was in the trouble they always got into and how they irritated each other but only in the way two long-time best friends can. Now Provenza is more of a reluctant leader and Flynn is all mushy over Sharon Rader.

Doesn't work in my opinion. Tao and Julio don't get to shine like they did in The Closer, either. There is WAY to much valuable screen time given to Rusty's story. It's not at all believable that he spends so much time wandering around the Murder Room. Let's get the Stroh trial over with and cut Rusty loose, or send him to college, PLEASE. He whines in every episode. And DDA Rios is unlikable and uninteresting. She's squeamish at the sight of blood and can't handle the smell of decaying bodies, so why does she have to be at the crime scenes? They are trying too hard to make a regular character out of her and she just isn't adding anything. DDA Hobbs is much better.

Sikes has potential, but she needs more to work with. The cases lack the intrigue they had in The Closer. The Closer story lines gripped me and put me through real emotions, wondering what was going to happen. The show had great drama with well-written and well-acted comedy in all the right places to alleviate the seriousness of the cases. Go back to the old formula that worked with Flynn and Provenza, give Tao and Julio more to work with, make Buzz more interesting, write more scenes for the medical examiner--he's pretty funny, finish Rusty's storyline and send him to college, and I'll keep watching.