Two sentences and a verdict.

I've seen several movies lately, but time and ennui have rendered me impotent with regards to writing big reviews. Therefore, I am writing these "two sentences and a verdict" blurbs...just to get them out of my system. Lame? Perhaps. If you don't like it, move to Russia!

Hee hee, "impotent".


In Memorium: In writer/director Amanda Gusack's 2005 feature, Dennis and Lilly move into a house and sets up surveillance cameras to document Dennis's battle with terminal cancer. Footage reveals that there are spirits-n-forces lurking around.

Two sentences: While critics have gone goo-goo over this film, calling it terrifying, brilliant, and everything they felt Paranormal Activity was not, I found it...okay. More plot, yes, but fewer scares.

Verdict: Not goo-goo.


In My Skin: In this 2002 film, a woman grows increasingly fascinated with her body after suffering a disfiguring accident (that's from the imdb page, yo).

Two sentences: French writer/director/actress Marina de Van proves she's got as much to say in as outré a fashion as her male counterparts in this startling examination of disconnection and disassociation. I love modern French horror cinema, and holy fucking shit, I love this movie.

Verdict: Yes yes yes, a thousand times yes, I can't wait to watch it again.

Shock Waves: After their boat sinks, survivors take refuge on an island that's soon beset by water-logged Nazi zombies.

Two sentences: This slow-burner of a movie combines many things I love: 1977, Peter Cushing, Brooke Adams, sogginess, and a Let's Scare Jessica to Death-ish narrated setup. I dug the moodiness, but it sure ain't gonna be everyone's cup of brine.

Verdict: Enjoyable enough, but would I watch it again? WOULD I? Probably not.

S&Man: From the Netflix description: Exploring the parallels between filmmaking and voyeurism, director J.T. Petty aims his camera at the world of underground horror films, interviewing scream queens and scholars and finding one auteur whose snuff series seems all too convincing.

Two sentences (and some spoilers): Going off of that description, I thought this 2006 film was solely a documentary, and I was diggin' it big time...and actually questioning if the one "auteur" was, in fact, making snuff films. It is not solely a documentary- fact and fiction are mixed, and I done been duped.

Verdict: I really liked it, but I may have felt differently throughout had I known of the ruse. Oh, and FYI: it's pronounced "Sandman", not "S & M Man" or "Samperasandman".