Insidious: Chapter 2 Review

Justin and I saw Insidious: Chapter 2 on September 14, 2013!! I was excited when this movie was announced, because I found the first Insidious to be one of the best horror movies in years. I like the whole concept of The Further and transporting yourself to different dimensions in your dreams. It was very well done. I consider James Wan to be one of the best horror directors with Dario Argento being the best. I think the story that Leigh Wannell and James Wan created was brilliantly executed. The concepts, excellent music, characters, and additional back story made the second installment so amazing to watch. Once I was able to deal with the tension, I was able to ease into the movie. I can get scared pretty easily. Once, my mother put on a Quasimodo mask from the animated 1996 Disney movie Hunchback of Notre Dame and jumped out at me as I was going into the bathroom. I shrieked quite loudly and nearly had a heart attack. My Halloween costume worked to instill fear on this occasion. In this second installment, the present plot picks up right where the first one left off which was great. We are presented background information on the Lambert family, namely Josh and his mother Lorraine when they first encountered this malevolent spirit that has been terrorizing them. What follows is a great combination of excellent usage of scares (particularly the woman in white-man is she creepy-great antagonist though as you'll see), great musical scores (the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when the music reaches a crescendo), and brilliantly connected pieces between the first and second movies. I really liked the main subplot dealing with the woman in white, as well as certain things you'll find out about that woman in black we saw in Josh's photos in the first movie. I think Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson have great chemistry, and I particularly felt Byrne's fear mixed with Wilson's duality really made for great performances, and its rare to see good performances in horror movies. They even did some great things paying homage to The Shining and Psycho. I also think Ty Simpkin's role as Dalton (the son that can travel to The Further) is a great children's role because it requires a great deal of imagination. Along with these three, Barbara Hershey did a great job as Lorraine once again, as did Lin Shaye in her Elise role. I like Elise because she is like a white light for the protagonists when they find themselves in a dark corner. She is a symbol of hope in many ways, however, each protagonist plays a big part in battling the darkness in their own way. I just feel her paranormal expertise is extremely beneficial for everybody. They did a great job connecting how the characters are in the present to events in the past. It's like a jigsaw puzzle where every piece fits perfectly. The way they connected some of these scenes was creative. In fact, if you plan on re-watching the first one before you see the second one, I'd say do it, because you may or may not see certain scenes from the first one appear. This did not disappoint at all. The best part is they set this up for a third installment, because with the Further there's always another insane ghost out there. The brilliant plot, connections between the first and second films, creative well thought out back stories on our protagonists and antagonists, as well as the music, great usage of make-up, and proper usage of scares, laughs (particularly with Specs & Tucker-the duo with Elise from the first movie), and intricately placed twists make this a 5/5. I am already looking forward to seeing what they will do with the third movie, because this story seems like it will focus on another main character, which can keep this going. There's so many creative ways to incorporate chief antagonist ghosts. Insidious Chapters 1 & 2 are both very well done. Both stand on their own with their own unique sub-plot, yet still connect to each other. I definitely recommend this even if you're not a horror person, because the actual story is still very interesting.

Blue Jasmine Review

I saw Blue Jasmine with two of my best friends Noelle & Lisa on September 10,2013!! Normally, I am not that big of a fan of Woody Allen. I like Annie Hall, Anything Else, & Vicki Cristina Barcelona, but for the most part I haven't been a fan of his work. However, I must say I was thoroughly impressed with Blue Jasmine and found myself enjoying the characters and story. I have read that Cate Blanchett is in the running for Best Actress when awards season comes around, and I am fully in favor of that if she is nominated. Blanchett is one of the best actresses in the history of cinema (not exaggerating, I really do think she's that good). Jasmine is a New York socialite that has to live with her sister Ginger because of the dark past surrounding her and her late husband Hal & estranged relationship with her son Danny. Moving from New York to San Francisco is something Jasmine needs. Blanchett's ability to show strength & vulnerability in each scene was incredible to watch. She is deeply disturbed and tends to talk to herself thinking past events are happening. The movie gives us flashbacks of how Jasmine came to be in her present state. We learn how Hal is a deplorable human being, and Alec Baldwin playing him was great because I naturally dislike him as an actor anyway (except in Beetlejuice & Barrett Moore in Nip/Tuck). Due to her status as a socialite, she finds it frustrating to work in "menial jobs", and she really doesn't have the skills to do these jobs accurately. However, when you're watching this there is a deeper meaning. This is really human emotions of anxiety trying to find your identity and where you belong. Jasmine needs to find her own person and distance herself from her past in order to get better. She really commands the screen with her incredible acting and different layers to Jasmine's personality. I want to point out how great Sally Hawkins & Bobby Cannavale were. I feel as incredible as the Jasmine character was, Ginger & her boyfriend Chili provide some great supporting roles. I think Cannavale was the best male performance of the movie, and he fights for Ginger throughout the movie. Ginger needs stability just as much as Jasmine does-that is what is intriguing about their relationship. Jasmine & Ginger aren't necessarily close, however, throughout the years they have both had issues with men in their lives such as failed relationships, cheated by Hal with money schemes, etc. I think each scene has a moment of great dialogue. The actors put alot of emotion into their words and made the performances stronger as a result. There were some other fun supporting roles by Peter Sarsgaard, Louis C.K., and Andrew Dice Clay. You want both Jasmine & Ginger to be happy in the end. The performances, writing, cast, and story were brilliant. Woody Allen really impressed me with this so much that I feel it merits a 5/5. It was extremely well done. The cut aways with the past & present were well done, and I think many of the twists & turns, though upsetting at times really kept the movie flowing. This is one of the best movies I've seen in 2013. I am definitely in favor of Blanchett, Hawkins, & Cannavale on the acting nomination lists for award seasons. They deserve it. At Applebees, Noelle, Lisa & I were discussing how we liked the movie and how much of an A-hole Andrew Dice Clay & Louis C.K. ended up being. If you want to know what I mean, see the movie!! I highly recommend people see this movie. It's a quality movie and much better to see than stupidity such as Riddick.