Reviews

This film was released sometime in 2001 but I only came across it two years ago. My guess is that this film probably didn't receive as much advertising as it deserved.

My first impression of the film was that it was a chick flick, but that didn't really matter because I have found some chick flicks actually amusing (for example: P.S. I Love You). Besides that, the story follows Beverly Donofrio who, as a child, knew exactly what she wanted to do in her future until an unexpected pregnancy at the age of 15 put her life in a hault.

Drew Barrymore really is a talented actress. She is probably the most charming and easiest-to-relate-to actress in today's Hollywood. There's something about her upbeat and charismatic personality that made her so easy to love in this movie. She truly made this movie a hit and I don't think anyone could have played the role of Beverly Donofrio like she did. What impressed me the most was how she carried this movie on her own throughout and I haven't seen many actresses achieve that recognition (most notable is probably Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich). Also, Brittany Murphy was a great addition to the cast and the chemistry between Barrymore and Murphy was brilliant.

The story itself is depressing and happy. It's really hard to explain. I couldn't decide whether or not it was a good thing she got pregnant at such a young age or it was a complete mistake that ruined her whole entire life. I guess it's something you would have to guess on your own while wathcing it. I liked how the film showed Beverly grow from a young confident girl to a more mature and confused individual.

I personally enjoyed this film but I'm not sure how other guys would feel watching. It is a touching film that really gets sad at certain points.

My Rating: 6/10

Watch It or Miss It: WATCH IT!

First and foremost, Elisha Cuthbert must have been drunk when she chose to play a role in this movie because this movie was just down-right horrible.

The movie basically follows the story of a successful yet lonely women who gets kidnapped and held captive in a cellar where she gets tortured. Good premise...awful movie.

Here is the problem with this movie...it is a complete rip-off of Saw! The movie tries so hard to gross us out that in the end, you just can't help but laugh at the situation that the kidnapper is putting her in. The weird part about it is that just when you thought Elisha's character had finally died at the end of every torture scene, you find her awake again in the same room and you realize that this guy is only playing some type of mind game.

While locked in the cellar, she meets another man (played by Daniel Gillies) who has also been kidnapped. The strangest part of this movie is how, even though they are being held captive and are possibly about to die at any moment; both characters still find time to fall in love with each other. (this of course would not happen in real life) The ending was just stupid. It was supposed to be a twist but I knew half an hour into the movie what was going to happen. Other than the acting, the movie really has nothing going for it.

Rating: 2.5/10 Watch It or Miss It: MISS IT!

'Buried Alive' seems too-good of a title to be placed on this piece of garbage. The cover art; though cheesy and unrealistic, actually looks half decent compared to the movie. The logo 'Dimension Extreme' is placed on top of the cover as if the film was somewhat 'too extreme or intense' to be shown in theaters.

I have lost a lot of interest in Dimension Extreme films mostly because they release films like this. 'Buried Alive' is a failed attempt to bring back a once promising genre (horror) and revive it into something new.

The main problem I had with this film is that it never truly finds itself a climax or a theme. It doesn't decide whether its a witchery film, a slasher flick, or a spiritual horror movie. I'm not saying that all horror films need to set one theme, but when the story gets so confusing and the plot gets all twisted up into nonsense, you kind of need a set theme to rely on. The movie tries to save itself by bringing up some foreign Indian voodoo symbolism story but by then, you realize that the movie just got too ridiculous to continue watching.

The poor acting did not help the movie either. The best performances were probably by Steve Sandvoss and Lindsey Scott. They both made their characters presentable and easy to understand, specifically Lindsey Scott's character who I found humorous and enjoyable. As for Tobin Bell, he played the dirty Lester character fairly well but my main issue with him is that we are so used to seeing him as the man behind Jigsaw that he ultimately fails in bringing a new character into life. All other actor's screwed up in some way or form. Their acting was really poor (mhmm...Leah Rachel) and it was hard for me to have any sympathy for them when they got butchered by the old ugly witch.

The gore and screams were minimum. I felt that the movie took way to long to explain the story that it waited till the very end to give us the blood-thirsty gore (which wasn't much to have been waiting for). The old witch that was killing everyone off was ridiculously stupid and did not even scare me one bit.

All in all, this is the typical stereotype horror film that doesn't offer anything new to the horror genre. It's a pathetic attempt and in the end, we're left with a horrible ending that does not resolve anything. I am being generous by giving it a 2 star rating, but thats only because of the two all-stars of the film.

Buried Alive: 2/10

Watch It or Miss It: MISS IT!

THE INVISIBLE -- 4.5/10 I really wasn't expecting much out of this film. The trailer for the movie didn't look all that great and the actor's seemed a bit mediocre. In the end, I wound up getting a mildly entertaining film with horrible dialogue and bad character development.

Firstly, I thought Chatwin played the character of Nick Powell brilliantly; specifically towards the end of the film. Marcia Gay Harden plays an even better role as Powell's mother, who struggles with her son's sudden disappearance. Harden has really come a long way since Mystic River and Flubber. I thought the scenes between Chatwin and Harden were the best ones throughout the film and were well produced. You could sense the true anger and sadness that both mother and son had for each other. Also, it was good to see Chris Marquette (The Girl Next Door) play a more serious role in a dramatic film like The Invisible.

Other than that, the film really didn't offer anything new. What I don't understand is how Margarita Levieva received so much recognition in this film? She played her part so unbelievably that you could sense she was trying a bit too hard to stay in-character throughout the film. She was supposed to be the tough-girl in school that everyone hated but instead, her sweet and sensitive look and personality shined more than her acting capabilities. I really don't think she saved this film nor do I think anything would have saved this film.

The dialogue is a bit brim, and its a shame considering the director David S. Goyer, whose past writing credits include 'The Dark Knight' and 'Batman Begins', chose not to write the script for this film. Perhaps a better script would have saved The Invisible, but I honestly believe that the story is so incoherent and predictable that 'The Invisible' probably would have worked better as a Lifetime Movie feature.

The one thing that the films has going for it is its soundtrack. I thought the soundtrack set the mood for a lot of the scenes and it made the film flow much easier.

Score: 4.5/10 Watch It or Miss It: Worth a Rent

I don't understand what the big hype was about this film. All the horror sites were saying that this movie had all the essentials of an 'old American slasher' flick that it would satisfy your needs. -- Even though this was similar to an old American slasher flick, my needs were still not satisfied.

My big problem with this movie is that we are now in the 2000's, not the 1980's. 1980's horror is the past and should stay in the past. Horror movies have changed so much that older movies now look cheesy and unrealistic. Even though they are fun to watch, they don't offer the same realistic blood thirsty gore that the recent films offer.

Hatchet is cheesy, unrealistic, and down-right awful. If we wanted to watch an old American slasher flick, i can just go back to the Friday the 13th series, Nightmare on Elm street series, or the Halloween series. I must admit, the movie is better than some of the horror movies being released but it is among the worst. The jokes are not funny and the actors are horrible.

I would personally stay away from this movie and never look back.

I never thought that I could see a horrible movie until i saw this one.

Let me first start off by saying that the cover art is false advertising and is nothing compared to the movie. The cover actually looks half decent compared to the actual movie. The back cover shows a couple of tombs lying on the floor in a warehouse, with chains hanging from the ceiling. Going into the movie, I was expecting some tombs, a warehouse, and some chains. What I got was newly furnished inexpensive tombs (not scary), a back of a grocery market, and assorted objects that are supposed to scare us.

This movie is horrible. The camera work looks like a student from high school was assigned a film directing project. The props look like they were bought at a dollar store (ripped off baby doll heads are NOT scary anymore). The sound was just really bad and I had to put subtitles just to understand what they were saying. I have never seen such bad camera-work. Let's just say that there is a actor FAKE JOGGING. He is not even trying to look as if he was jogging, he is just simply FAKE Jogging. Just plain out BAD! I hate that I actually watched this film. I was so annoyed and irritated that I felt like I was going to die after watching this movie.

I don't know who labelled this movie as 'selling sex' or 'unrealistic', because let me reassure you that this move is neither.

First off, if you're expecting some type of nudity or comedy, this movie will offer neither. It has a very minimum amount of nudity and the jokes just fall short.

With that, this movie is just not about sex. It brings us to a very realistic world where couples do struggle to keep their relationship alive. Culkin and Dziena star as a couple, though very much in love, have trouble keeping up with a satisfying sex life. Dziena's failure to have a orgasm with Culkin is their main issue. Dushku and Becker is yet another couple who want to try new things in order to keep a spark in their sex life. Both couples turn to group sex counseling as a possible solution to their issues.

I've heard of group sex counseling before and it is a very real thing. The movie broadens on the issue and shows the advantages and disadvantages of it. This movie is not 'unrealistic' and many people turn to group sex counseling as a possible solution. And this movie is not about 'selling sex' because there are barely any sex scenes in the film. I've seen horror films with more sex than this film...maybe you should turn to those films.

The movie is awkward and the dialogue is a bit brim. The acting from the cast is a bit overrated and over-dramatic. Usually, Dushku performs well in her films but she fell flat with this one.