Insidious: A film with a strong start but weak ending

So it's Halloween night with a few friends and one of them has a collection of horror movies we have never watched before (or even heard of). We decide to watch Insidious because one of my buds had heard that this was a frightening film. Although the film did have a few good early scares, the ending was just a cheap cop-out.

I kind of feel like this film is a combination of Poltergeist and The Paranormal Activity series. The beginning starts with a typical white family moving into a new house. They have two children and of course a baby. The dad's a teacher and the mom is into music, yada yada. Do I need to go on? The family begins to have weird occurrences such as certain items going missing, weird voices through the baby monitor. When eventually their oldest son falls into what is seemingly a coma. The mother (played by Rose Byrne of Bridesmaids) believes that it is the house that is causing this coma but when the family decides to move into a new house. They discover it is their son that is haunted. BUM BUM BUM!!!!

The few things that worked for this movie were the subtle scares at the beginning, where you can see movements through your peripherals. Where the movie begins to lose its haunting settings is when you start to see the actual ghosts and realize what happened to Darth Maul at the end of Star Wars Episode 1. The more you see of the ghosts the less frightening it becomes.

The ending or even midway through the film takes a complete turn and makes it seem like two films were tied together. It ends up being some fantasy adventure towards the end where the dad has to enter a spiritual realm to find his son. It's a little to Pumpkin Soup for the Teenage Soul for me. You never get attached to any of the characters to really care about what is happening. Overall this film is mediocre at best. I would say watch this film until they move into the new house, THEN STOP! It may make the film more haunting.

Slumdog Millionaire takes it home!

The 2009 Best Picture Winner has that special something for everyone. Slumdog features an incredible love story for the generations, the sick twisted humor that only Danny Boyle can come up with, and a connection with characters that makes you want to cheer them on.



Jamal Malik (Dev Pate) is just one question away from winning a fortune on India's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" How has this uneducated young man from the slums succeeding in providing correct responses to questions that have stumped countless scholars before him? And will he ultimately win it all or lose everything, including his true love?

This movie truly proves that it is not about the story but rather more how the story is told. The story itself has been done before in many films before it. However what made this movie amazing was the way it was told. With each question the viewer is shown Jamal's life and how he was able to overcome these difficulties to find his true love. Danny Boyle's direction is amazing in this film and truly deserves all the Oscars that it has won. I would highly recommend this film to everyone, it will make you jump out of your seat and cheer.

Please vote for the poll on the side! I really can't wait to see what you guys request.

Please Vote!

I have five movies that need to be reviewed and I want to know which one you would like me to review first. I added a poll to the side of the blog featuring five movies you can vote for. Please vote!

For Your Consideration: "Evenings With Ms. Elouise"

I absolutely love this video. Tell me what you think.

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It has been along time since I have posted and I want to come back. I am here taking requests for any movies you want me to review or any top ten lists you want me to make. Please just post here if you have a suggestion.

Oscar Picks

Best Picture
1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. Milk
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Frost/Nixon
5. The Reader

I honestly believe that this movie may break the Golden Globes curse of Best Picture curse. It had done so well at all the other awards, hopefully it will win the big one. I really hope that Benjamin Button doesn't win because I find it to be too similar to Forest Gump.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1. Marisa Tomei
2. Penélope Cruz
3. Amy Adams
4. Viola Davis
5. Taraji P. Henson


Unfortunately I have only seen Taraji P Heson's performance, So I cannot fairly judge in this category but I have a strong feeling it will either go to Marissa Tomei or Penelope Cruz.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
1. Heath Ledger
2. Philip Seymour Hoffman
3. Michael Shannon
4. Robert Downey Jr.
5. Josh Brolin


There is obviously no contest here. Heath Ledger hands down. Most of the other nominees are pretty weak. I have a feeling that the Academy did that on purpose to make sure Heath will win. If it isn't Heath than it better go to Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
1. Melissa Leo
2. Kate Winslet
3. Meryl Streep
4. Anne Hathaway
5. Angelina Jolie


Melissa Leo strongly deserves it this year. Her performance in Frozen River drove the movie. That's what a leading actress should do. The movie itself could have gone flat easily but because of Leo's and Upham's (who should've been nominated over Taraji P. Henson) performance the movie is one of the best pictures of the year. However I have a strong feeling it will go to Kate Winslet just because people feel it's her time. To be honest I thought her performance in The Reader was good but not outstanding. If anything at all she should have won for Iris.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
1. Frank Langella
2. Sean Penn
3. Mickey Rourke
4. Richard Jenkins
5. Brad Pitt


Frank Langella should win for his role of President Nixon. The whole entire time you did not see Frank Langella, you saw Nixon. To be able to portray such a strong over the top character is amazing. I did not see The Wrestler so I cannot say Mickey Rourke doesn't deserve to win but I really feel strongly about Frank Langella. Sean Penn is my second pick for this category.

So these are my picks, tell me what you agree with or what you disagree with?

Hey guys I just wanted to let you know about some of the other articles I enjoy to write about that is not about movies. I also enjoy writing short stories which you can read at this cool site called HubPages. So far I have posted two stories online and probably will be writing some more soon. I promise to continue to write more reviews and such, I know it's been awhile since I posted anything but as I'm heading closer to my grad year I start to run out of time for things. However I will continue to post. Also please check out my stories and tell my what you think.