SCREAM 4: HORROR-BLE!

Most people don't (didn't)  know that horror movies are my guilty pleasure. I guess that secret is out now. I like thrillers and suspense more than blood and guts. Most times I can only watch them during the day, however. I liked the way the Scream series brought comedy into the genre. However, this time, we are laughing AT you, not with you. I was happy to hear that the original cast members would be involved with the film so many years after the last installment. Additionally, having Wes Craven on board seemed to be a get-out-of-jail-free card. The beginning was hopeful as their brand of humor poked fun at false starts to bad slasher films. Loved seeing Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell! But the energy drops there. Thing is, it ended up being highly predictable and disappointing. Cox, Campbell and Arquette seemed to sleep walk through their lines, not that the newbies proved any better. Things just didn't add up or make sense and the ending seemed almost an afterthought. The writing just wasn't above par for what we've come to expect from these and the pay off was a let down. Let's hope that in the future, trilogy's stay that way. Not worth seeing.

INSIDIOUS: TOO MUCH HYPE, BUT NOT AN AWFUL FLICK

My guilty pleasure is watching suspense thrillers, okay, it's really watching horror movies, BUT the ones without all the blood and guts. I like to be afraid, not grossed out. Brought to us by director James Wan, his style is a collective homage; in part to haunted house movies, in part to poltergeist and the last, little seen psychic astral projection and the "Further". It was visually quite stylish and well presented, but the plot was lacking and the acting was acceptable, but not much more. It is spooky and you'll find the edge of your seat quite worn, but that seems like its only intention. I can't recall it now, but I seemed to have liked the end twist, which is always a good sign. I think the hype out played what was delivered, but the delivery wasn't so bad.

NEW RELEASES QUICK GUIDE: WHAT NOT TO SEE

BUG: SEE AT YOUR OWN PSYCHOLOGICAL RISK
I can't be much help to you here... at first, it looks like a typical small town with Ashley Judd playing a typical small town girl who has seen way too much for her short life. We meet new characters, including her ex-husband (Harry Connick playing a great bad guy!) Enter Peter Evans who seems like the shy quiet type; a good man. From there, it's anybody's guess. What is ture and what isn't? Is it drug related paranoia or mental illness? There may have been a great story here, but the plot does not flush out enough facts to help the view who sits, head in hands saying "huh?" Not a big loss if you don't see it.


VACANCY: IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE
Thrillers are great to watch; lower body count, if not less blood and guts. I was hoping this would be one. I mean, with two known and gifted actors, Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson, I don't know what went wrong. Yes, there were scary parts when I felt my heart beating a bit faster, but the rest was so ludicrous that it made it funny. The set up was great and believable. My favorite was Frank Whaley as Mason, the desk clerk. After a while, the chasing became laughable and I fast forwarded through a lot. In the end, it again, lost all it's spookiness and after that, it lost me. Save your time, read a Steven King book.


PREMONITION: I WISH I SAW THIS ONE COMING
The idea started out with good intentions. Sandra Bullock is Linda Quinn Hanson, wife of Jim (Julian McMahon) and some children. Her world is turned upside down once she is told her husband died in a car accident. Little by little her world is divided in two, one of grief and sorrow and the other of fantasy. In her fantasy world her husband is alive and she is thrilled. Unfortunately this comes off a bit like Groundhog's Day where each day repeats itself until... until you don't care anymore. Bullock did a great job with that she had, but heartbreakingly McMahon slept-walked through his role. However, not being married, maybe that's how it really is. I had hoped for more, being a fan of Nip/Tuck, his FX show, but he was not appealing at all, as was this movie. It was something to do, but too tiring to go back and forth between the two worlds. I think I'll take a nap. Maybe when I wake, McMahon will be in my fantasy world!


KICKIN' IT OLD SKOOL FLUNKS

Let me say this; Jamie Kennedy is a/was a talented actor. I liked Malibu's Most Wanted. Yes, it was goofy, but sometimes we need those things so I thought maybe it would be just that. A story about a young boy who gets in an accident while breakdancing and stays in a coma for 20-odd years. So, of course once we wakes up he has to adjust to the new world around him. Right there; that's a story, but alas it goes on and it isn't pretty. D-