Reviews

Britney (Hayden Penettierre) was on cloud nine - wealthy, pretty, popular and the newly crowned captain of her cheering squad. Then her world comes crashing down around her when her parents announce that they will be moving and she will be attending an inner city school. She is devastated and vows she will never cheer again until she joins the squad at her new school. Now she's forced to decide who she can trust, who her real friends are, and what guys deserve to be in her life.

In some ways this film is a reiteration of the first film, except that the wealthy white girl is thrown into the inner city school instead of competing against them. However the acting is well-done, especially from Hayden and Solange Knowles - Smith. There is a good amount of foreshadowing so the ending doesn't feel thrown together. The drama feels real on screen (even though it is actually unrealistic)and the characters are likable. The best thing about this film has to be the end routine - it brings everything together.

The things that annoyed me about this film: *the IM speak - it wasn't funny, it was annoying, and anyone who talked like that would be beaten up.

*how dumb Britney acted in the beginning - considering a C-average good, and telling her friends they're too fat.

*how Britney lets everyone walk all over her when she has so much attitude. How does that work?

Overall:

This is a worthy direct-to-video sequel to the original. It's a fun film to watch with good performances and awesome dance moves. Do yourself a favor, skip the first sequel and give this one a watch if you liked the original, or just want an entertaining cheer leading movie.

Whittier is both nervous and excited. She's just made it onto the BEST cheer leading squad (best in WHAT is never clarified). Unfortunately, the captain is rude and cruel to the other cheerleaders, so she and her best friend Monica decide to create their own squad and have a cheer off to see who will go to nationals. At the same time she is falling for the shaggy Derrick who could be perfect for her.

From the beginning this film annoyed me. The lead girl is too naive and impressionable - after one talk with her "head cheerleader" she decides to cut down on her calories and ridicule her friends - even drop them for acceptance. (Don't most girls grow out of that by college?) When she finally stands up for herself, you'll wonder what took so long, and why she felt the need to strip to make her point.

The acting is okay at best, especially from the lead, who is out shined by the girls playing her best friend and her adversary. The "comedy" is minimal, with the gag of Penelope getting hurt being very overdone. The ending was predictable and completely unrealistic as well.

This film left me with a few questions:

*What was with the constant costuming of Whittier in yellow? *Why did the guy playing the mascot beat box to the costume head before going out onstage?

*Where did the new squad find the funding to get matching uniforms and how did they manage to unify their routine within two days?

Overall:

This is nothing more than mundane teen drivel. It's an unnecessary sequel trying to cash in on the success of it's predecessor. The acting is poor and the ending unrealistic and predictable. Skip this lame flick - you're not missing anything.

Torrence (Kirsten Dunst)thinks she has it made. She has a hot boyfriend, popularity, and has just made captain of her cheering squad. Unfortunately everything begins to go downhill. After her boyfriend goes off to college, he rarely talks to her. Her squad begins to turn on her after she puts the new rebellious girl on the team. If that wasn't enough, she discovers that the previous captain of the squad had stolen all of their routines from an inner-city high school. With both teams going to regionals, what is Torrence to do?

What really makes this film is the routines, the performances, and the chemistry between the four main actors - without all of the above, I don't think this film would have been the hit that it was. It has all the makings of a teen movie - attractive, well-known and loved actors, a likable heroine, a jerk boyfriend, a sweet guy who would be perfect for said heroine, drama between said heroine and those around her, and her finding out who her true friends are. Yet, this film manages to pull it all together with good humor and no nudity. Dunst and Bradford have so much chemistry they can make brushing teeth flirtatious. Dushku put in a great performance as the rebellious rocker chick Missy, and Union pulled off her role as the tough yet classy captain of the rival squad with ease.

Overall: A run-of-the-mill teen flick spiced up with believable performances, likable characters, great chemistry between the actors, and fun routines that the audience can get into. Recommended to teens of all ages.

Eugenie Matteson (Zoe Trilling) arrives in Alexandria, Egypt to stay with her father while he is on an archaeological dig. Her father, a Christian religious fanatic who often quotes from the Bible, believes his daughter to be little Miss Innocent - but he doesn't realize that he has brought her to the one place that will corrupt her. Walking in the market place dressed like a regular American teenager would in hot weather, Genie is attacked by a group of perverse Egyptian men looking to get lucky, but she is saved in time by Sobina (who apparently has a sexual relationship with Genie's father) who introduces her to the work of the Marquis de Sade, as well as the darker side of life in Alexandria. Sobina takes Genie to a club where the first act of corruption is committed when Genie is given opium. Before long she begins seeing things - sexual things with her father coming in and preaching in the background. (This is arguably representative of her conscious telling her to get out, yet she's fascinated by this crazy world of sex and drugs)The next day she meets Mahmood, a hunky, intelligent and wealthy Egyptian and they quickly strike up a romance. As time wares on, Genie finds herself the target of a cult obsessed with the Marquis de Sade and led by one of his relatives (Robert Englund stars as both the Marquis and his descendant).

I found this film entertaining but disturbing and weird as well. I saw it for Robert Englund (I love his work)and I was pleased with his performance. Zoe Trilling isn't much of an actress, but I've seen worse. There is a lot of erotic sex scenes and nudity in this film, but honestly, it's a horror film about the Marquis de Sade, people, what did you expect? I actually didn't mind the sex - it all relates back to the theme of the corruption and perversion of this one young woman. The snakes are obviously symbols of the serpent in Eden's apple tree; the film takes a jab at religious fanaticism as a whole. (i.e. religious zealot father is into bondage games with the local prostitute...) I do have a problem with the fact that the connection between the de Sade cult and the religious circuit that Genie's father's archaeological dig is based upon. (I think it has something to do with hidden treasure...) This is a huge plothole that has always bothered me.

This is not the perfect movie, and no way is it a classic, but it's not incredibly terrible either. The acting is decent and there is some symbolism littered throughout. I think they tried to make this a deep film, but failed to answer some necessary questions when it came to the end of the story. The scenery and sets are great as well, I just wish they filled in the plot holes before wrapping this.

For people who like to analyze films, you might have fun with the symbolism in this. I did. BEWARE the sexual content - if sex scenes make you uncomfortable you might want to skip this flick because there's a lot of sex and nudity throughout the film. There is also mild torture, drug use, and violence. Worth a watch in my opinion.

Seriously, I NEVER rate films this low, but this film really deserves it. The story follows seven young friends in a motor home who venture out into the woods on a camping trip. There they meet Nicole, who apparently witnessed the murder of a young couple on a nearby campsite the night before. Pretty soon (but not soon enough in my book) these annoying teenagers are knocked off one by one.

Do not get the wrong idea - I am a huge horror buff. I really enjoy B-movies, which is why I rented this film in the first place. I wanted to have a cheesy good time, and kick back with my boyfriend. My God, was this film atrocious! The acting was terrible, of course, that is typical of B-movies. The script is very poorly written and the film seems to be in an identity crisis - should it be a horror film? A Drama? A Comedy? A Porno? - meshing many different ideas into one film. The storyline was decent but it was butchered much more than the many victims killed off. The characters are flat and the killer predictable. The bad effects had to be the worst part of this film though - I have seriously seen better gore done in home videos on YouTube.

Overall, this is even a disappointment to B-movie buffs like myself. The only good scene is near the end involving the blonde girl, the killer and a heavy frying pan. If this film was made, I see no reason why all of the amateur horror directors on YouTube can't get paying gigs - half of their films are superior to this one.

Five young sorority sisters have just bought a dilapidated old building which they plan on renovating and making into a new sorority house. For one reason or another, they go to the house on day and decide to stay overnight in the house to meet the movers the next morning. What follows is an endless tirade of clichés and male driven slumber party fantasies.

I watched this one rainy afternoon while bored (right after Slumber Party Massacre no less)hoping for some campy fun - instead my intelligence was insulted. Lingerie, booze, Ouija boards, creepy neighbors and demonic possession all make an appearance within this 70 minutes of poor film making.

The two things I found most irritating about this film were:

1.) The women in lingerie. I'm sorry boys, I hate to bust your fantasy, but we do NOT wear our sexy lingerie to slumber parties. That type of thing is usually saved for your viewing pleasure - not for our girls to see.

2.) The footage stolen from "Slumber Party Massacre" and used as a back story. I'll give the director points for trying to separate this flick from its predecessor, but, please, don't insult the viewers. We know where that footage is from - and not everyone sees it as an homage - more as a blatant rip off.

The acting was terrible as expected, but this movie is the epitome of the horror film cliché. We have a demonic possession and a slasher film loaded with T&A. A few reviewers have claimed that this is a satire/spoof but it doesn't give that impression to me. This film is watchable, if only to laugh at how ridiculous it is.

A troubled teenage boy, Trevor Adams (Ben Foster) returns to his high school for his sophomore year after being expelled for threatening to blow up the high school football team. This time he carries a video camera everywhere he goes, catching things on film usually ignored by administrators in the high school setting. He is casted as the main character in the school play, "Bang Bang You're Dead", in hopes to bring the town to understand what drives these kids to hurt their classmates and shoot up their schools.

I've read mixed reviews on this film, but I honestly can't understand why anyone would only give this film one star. People complain about the cliché cliques (well those usually exist in the high school setting), the "teacher who cares" cliché (well, he was needed to drive the point home), and the fact that the "loser" caught the interest of a semi-attractive girl. (Well, he's not exactly ugly, and she has a mind of her own. How is that unrealistic? I've seen it happen a lot.)These clichés are hardly evident to most viewers - I've seen the film twice and barely noticed them. Who cares if there are clichés as long as the film makes a point and does it well? That's what made me rate this film so high. It moved me, it made me think, and it aroused mixed emotions within me. Anger at the ignorance and the bullying, hopeful that Trevor will make everyone see the truth in a nonviolent way, and relief that a film had the balls to point out that the thing many schools turn their back on is the cause of many school shootings.

The cast was amazing, especially Ben Foster as Trevor. He really brought the character to life, and I doubt the film would have had the same effect on the viewers if he wasn't in it. The supporting cast did a good job as well, but his performance was the most memorable to me.

I loved this film and I feel it does a great job of showing what these students go through every day - and they do it without having to use profanity. It shows that a little violence, and even the slightest name calling can push someone over the edge. It's intense, and probably one of my favorite films to come out after the year 2000.

The lives of several Miami citizens cross paths in a span of two days, resulting in some slightly comical situations. Two families, a homeless guy, a pair of bumbling crooks, two assassins, two cops, and two FBI agents all wind up in a race against time with a nuclear bomb.

The only reasons I watched this were Ben Foster and Tim Allen. I was not disappointed with their performances - or any others for that matter. (With the exception of the monotonous Zooey Deschenel). There were a couple funny scenes, but the dialogue was the funniest part of the film. Sadly, there weren't enough funny moments to make me like it.

Overall, it's an average flick. I liked the fact that the humor wasn't based around foolish bathroom humor - and the dialogue was what delivered it. The first half of the film was amusing, but the second began to bore me. I know some herald this as a cult classic, but I am not going to join them. Still, I've seen worse.

When an arsonist strikes the Calhoun household, a single mother and her baby are killed while the only surviving family member, ten year old Billie, is accused of committing the crime. Eight years later, she is attending a hearing for early release only to have it denied to her. She pleads with her guard to set her free because the guard knows she is innocent. Her guard makes it look like Billie simply escaped, and Billie hides out in an abandoned apartment. From there she moves on in her quest to prove her innocence. Her only problem is that everywhere she goes - people wind up dead. She finds sympathy in an attractive young detective who aids her in her quest and allows her to stay with him. Can he save her in the end when she encounters the real killer?

I might be a little biased because I saw this as a ten year old girl, but I really like this film. It's not meant to be a "thinker", it's just meant to entertain - and in that respect it has my vote.

Yes, there are plot holes...

Why was she in a women's prison? How did she know how to drive when she grew up in prison? How come Father Paul looked young enough to be her brother?

Who cares? These are minor details that can't ruin the film for me. Everything that needed to be explained was explained. All the viewer really wants to know is the identity of the killer.

I still find it somewhat suspenseful and fun. It's not meant to be a psychological film, just a fun way to kill time on a rainy Saturday afternoon. In that sense, it does it's job well.

I adored this show growing up. I don't think I caught it when it originally aired, but they played reruns through 1998 or so, and I became hooked. I think I saw every episode and I have one or two on tape somewhere.

Tucker and Becca were the most memorable characters. My crush on Ben Foster began with show, watching it as a nine-year-old, and it continues to this day. Tucker was hilarious, I loved him the most out of all the characters. I felt I could really relate to Becca (Jewel Staite)because our personalities are very similar.

The story lines weren't original, but when are they ever? There is only so much you can do with preteen and teenage story lines. What makes them great is the characters that walk us through the plot. They were so lovable that I tuned in every day to watch it. I've seen pretty much every episode.

This show deserves to be released on DVD - the fans would really appreciate it!

This is by no means Oscar-worthy on any level. However, it is a fun watch, and should be viewed by all true horror fans.

The first scene is a bit over the top, but creepy and fun. It takes place during the day time, which is a change in the cliché horror atmosphere, with a great score, flying objects, and creepy mannequins moving and laughing obnoxiously. As the plot unfolds, we see it's another "teens on vacation getting trapped in the middle of nowhere with a crazy psycho" movie. It is one, but that is forgivable considering the time period and how often 70's films are ripped off these days.

These new kids introduced are linked to the character in the first scene (for once!). Their car breaks down and they are stranded at this roadside wax museum run by Chuck Connor's character. Slowly they begin to be picked off, and Chuck's fascination with Molly's character grows. There is even a death scene that makes the viewer slightly claustrophobic while watching it.

Over all, this isn't that bad of a film. As a major horror movie buff I can testify to seeing much worse films than this (and many have come out recently (!)). The acting is decent with a surprisingly creepy performance from Chuck Connors. The score really sets the mood, and the mannequins powered by Connor's telekinesis are enough to freak a few viewers out. It's not guaranteed to give you nightmares, but it is a pretty fun time. Not recommended for those who like lots of gore and nudity, because there isn't any.

Having a low budget doesn't always mean having a bad movie, but in this case it does. While other directors use their minimal budget to produce the best film they can, Clive Saunders seems to have blown it all on something, because this film looks like it could have easily been made on $1,000. I found it to be dull, poorly written/acted/directed, and an insult to the intelligence of viewers who have actually done the research on Gacy that these film makers neglected to do.

The setting is horrible. The movie is supposed to be taking place in Chicago, but the Southern California architecture, mountains and palm trees make it clear that the production never left Los Angeles. The film is supposed to take place in the seventies, but it doesn't give off the authentic feel at all. The script gives one the feeling that it was a first draft whipped up in one weekend and put to film without so much as one editing session. The dialogue is weak and unbelievable in many scenes, and there seemed no basic plot whatsoever. With directing, editing and shoddy camera work such as appears in this film, these people should be banned from ever making films again. Seriously, I could do better with a bunch of friends and a camcorder.

Now, I want to start right off by saying that I did not go into this hoping for blood and guts and gore...what I wanted was to learn a little background on the man himself. Although I love those aspects of horror films, I wanted more of a psychological view of Gacy, and that is what the film failed to deliver. All it managed to do was show scenes of bugs in his crawl space, him going to and from work, him being harassed and beaten up for the money he owes, and the overwhelming emphasis placed on the stench of the decomposing bodies hidden under the house.

Worst of all, Gacy is portrayed as somewhat of a bumbling idiot rather than the scarily intelligent being he was. All of the deaths that are shown seem to have been committed on accident - such as the boy he was drowning in the bathtub when he was interrupted. When the boy fell down dead, he looked like he'd "made a boo-boo."- Not to mention the fact that he would leave dead bodies lying around the house and his roommates wouldn't take any notice. I realize that some people don't make it their business to report suspicious crimes or get involved, but that is just ridiculous.

Yes, I will admit that I wanted at least one scene of brutal violence from the film, but only for it to give me a full perspective of Gacy's crimes. I wanted a true story that did the story of the killer justice as well as creep me out, but instead I received this boring mess. Don't do like I did. Spare your intelligence and read up on Gacy instead, I guarantee you that what you read will entertain and scare you more than this film ever could.