Reviews by SJMJ91

The Adjustment Bureau is one of those films that simply falls into a whole new dimension that one doesn’t always come across when browsing through films to watch. The film became the dawning of a new genre by mixing science fictional stories and background settings with a part-romantic and intense storyline. Before watching the film, it had the immediate approach that it could possibly be a mislead fourth Jason Bourne film, excluding Matt Damon as the leading actor. But considering that the film perhaps was a tad slow to begin with, it felt like a film trapped between a political story and a thriller. However, when the film really got going, the entertainment kicked in and didn’t stop until the ending credits rolled.


In most recent years, we have witnessed a lot of fictional mind-bending stories that features thought-provoking segments involving ways of life and expresses a message. In the case of The Adjustment Bureau, it demonstrates how strong love is and how far you’d go to get the love of your life, even if it means your life to get it. Plus, it questions the viewers whether life as a whole is a game and is determined by fate. Whatever the outcome of it would be, the dialogue of the film is a worthy enough attempt at expanding new storyline ideas regarding how the world works and life itself. Aside from its intriguing concepts within the story, The Adjustment Bureau has a very solid romantic connection between the male and female lead and features intense and incredibly entertaining action with an identical style to previous filmmakers and their feature films.


Any action film involving Matt Damon is going to be solid entertainment, which we previously learned from the intense and exhilarating Jason Bourne trilogy. Damon is one of those actors who can pull off all-round satisfactory performances in films purely for entertainment, but can deliver Oscar-worthy performances. As for his performance in The Adjustment Bureau, as predicted it was interesting but only in very small doses, the David Norris character didn’t feel very realistic as a politician. As far as the action scenes are concerned, it was great to see Matt back in action again. After many great performances in her young career, Emily Blunt is a beautiful shining Hollywood star who once again shows what she is made of. No, her performance isn’t worth of an Oscar nomination as Elise, but it is solid enough for the style of film.


The relationship between David and Elise is special in many different ways, and they bond together so perfectly; such as the sophisticated humour between them and the message that the relationship between the two send out: that you never know who your soul-mate is, where you’ll meet them and when. In fact, the close relationship between the two reminded me of Jason Bourne (ironically played by Damon) and Marie (played by Franka Potente) in The Bourne Identity. So, Damon knows how to give good performances as characters in a very personal relationship. Supporting actors Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Anthony Ruivivar, Michael Kelly and Terrence Stamp all gave solid performances in their respective roles too.


George Nolfi deserves a high-five and a thumbs-up for writing, directing and co-producing such an extraordinary and crafty motion picture. Nolfi brings forth the brilliance in direction within The Adjustment Bureau from other filmmakers in the past, such as Paul Greengrass (Bourne trilogy, United 93) and Christopher Nolan (Memento, Inception). As you watch the film, you can tell that those said directors were clear inspirations to him, and helped him progress to make something new. Nolfi had already proved he had a talent as a screenwriter in previous works Ocean’s Twelve and The Bourne Ultimatum, but The Adjustment Bureau is a very solid starting point for Nolfi as a director and would make directors Greengrass and Nolan proud.


Overall, The Adjustment Bureau is an absolutely brilliant film that expresses what entertainment is all about. This is a small point, but there are some key areas in the film that could make this the start of a new trilogy, and doesn’t seem like it is over just yet. After watching the film, it leaves you questioning on how much your life is really left to fate and chance, and whether we are allowed to make our own choices in our future. The Adjustment Bureau proves itself worthy as one of the most entertaining films of 2011 that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Back in 2003, Johnny English charmed us with its hilarious jokes, witty characters, some exciting action scenes and it’s all around fun dialogue, although it received a mixed critical reception. However, the idea of a sequel to Johnny English arouse quite a few questions, including why it took over 7 years for a sequel and whether the majority of the original cast would return. Having said that, the released theatrical trailer of film seemed exactly what was expected from it (like its predecessor): something that was bound to make people laugh and to get a lot of fun from. Many times over the years there have been long-lost sequels to a film to be released or sequels that are last expected, but in the case of Johnny English Reborn is certainly on the top of the unexpected sequels list.


Considering the film’s sudden release, it did have many unexpected surprises in the package. The biggest surprises about the sequel in comparison to the first film was that the dialogue was a bit darker, more serious and perhaps more realistic. Once again, it features references of the James Bond films in forms of the comedy genre but this time we get a story that fits more into that with more exciting action. It had its laugh out loud humour in the sequel that we felt familiar with from its predecessor. On the other hand, the film did have its weaknesses that wore it down to the slightly lower level at didn’t quite meet the standard required of its predecessor. There were some lacking with character development and acting from some of the new actors, and the scenes with the martial arts weren’t really necessary. Those scenes could’ve totally killed the film (and Rowan Atkinson’s career), so it’s a relief that those scenes were simply cut short.


Rowan Atkinson makes his return as Johnny English, and how great it really was to have him back. Critically, Atkinson needed his breakthrough after the incredibly yet harshly bashed Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Although this film hasn’t received worldwide critical acclaim, he gives a worthy enough performance to remember that shows his true colours as an actor. Rosamund Pike, ironically a previous Bond girl in Die Another Day stars in the “comedy version of James Bond” as Kate, the love interest of Johnny and MI7’s psychologist. She was a satisfactory replacement of Natalie Imbruglia in the first film. Considering that Pike wasn’t in the sequel quite as often as Imbruglia was in the predecessor as Lorna Campbell, the chemistry between Kate and Johnny was a lot more personal. So, fair cops to Rosamund Pike for her performance.


Quite frankly, I felt bewildered at the fact that Pegasus, the Head of MI7 was portrayed by Gillian Anderson when the said character was performed by Tim Pigott-Smith in the predecessor. The decision to change the Pegasus character from male to female in this sequel was clearly inspired from the decision to change M in the James Bond films from male to female. This is not a sexist remark in the slightest, but coming from one’s personal opinion, the decision to change Pegasus from male to female didn’t feel right because it felt like a totally different person in terms of personality. So, Anderson may have looked hot, but character development as Pegasus just wasn’t there. Other new actors Dominic West and Daniel Kaluuya both gave at least satisfactory performances in their respective roles. Unfortunately, Ben Miller never appeared as Agent Angus Bough in the sequel, but Kaluuya as Agent Tucker, Johnny’s side-kick/accomplice was a worthy enough replacement.


In addition to the majority of the cast changing, the selected director is also another slight adjustment in this sequel. Peter Howitt certainly did a very good job on-set of the first film with the sequences within the supposed Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, and the real Queen etc. So, that was well handled, and it was a surprise to find out that he didn’t return for the sequel. Anyhow, Oliver Parker’s talents as a filmmaker are not a top-notch masterful style, but due to the cleverly handled action scenes, it is a solid start to a career that could become something worthwhile. William Davies, a co-writer of the first Johnny English alters from screen-writing in a team (also recently co-wrote How To Train Your Dragon), but now goes on to work alone. He goes on to make a solid attempt at writing a script at a high standard of the action-comedy genre as a whole. The film is filled with gags and hilarious jokes that will make you laugh so much, you will not be able to stop until it hurts. So, thumbs up to the director and screenwriter of the film.


Overall, Johnny English Reborn is a surprisingly delightful treat that perhaps was unexpectedly made but turned out as hilarious and as fun as the first film. Rowan Atkinson has performed beyond average once again, and has made up for his role in Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Apart from the few bad decisions and minor weaknesses and like its predecessor, it proves itself a worthy success that will entertain its viewers time and time again over the next few years. Or better yet, we could be in for one final return that completes a possible Johnny English trilogy.

Immediately after the release of the third series in this gigantically popular British sitcom, there was the announcement of a planned feature film. Although, the excitement for it was huge and was already one of the most anticipating films of 2011, there were perhaps some suspicions and maybe even some desperation from the makers due to the fact that series 3 became a huge popular hit, and therefore wanted to improve on the reputation of it as a whole (hence the idea of a feature film). Considering the fact that both the film and the TV series do suffer a little from repetition, the film is an absolute pleasure to watch and is filled with its shocking and crude jokes and is an all-round wild adventure.


Having said that the film is filled with extremely vulgar and crude jokes (jokes you couldn’t possibly imagine), there are two things that are required for a viewer to get the full enjoyment from this. One, it is perhaps needed to watch all three series’ first so then they can truly understand the nature of the characters and the jokes. And two, depending on the individual, you really need to have the right sense of humour to enjoy it. We have seen many teen films involving similar themes as The Inbetweeners Movie has, but The Inbetweeners as a whole is one on its own and tells its tale by sending out its message about coming of age involving the next step in life from a teenager to an adult. Previously in the series, every single episode ends in either disastrous catastrophes or complex complications, but in the film there are a few slight adjustments and isn’t as predictable as it may look. In fact, it is one of the very rare romantic-comedies (it fits in that genre) that does have its unpredictability concepts in the dialogue.


In many teen films, we have seen a group of characters on a rather desperate mission to achieve something that is hopelessly idiotic (examples: four lads seeking to lose their virginity on a specific date, 3 guys and a girl going across Europe to meet a pen pal etc). However, in the case of the events that occur in the lives of Will, Jay, Neil and Simon that are still hopeless and disastrous but are well-intentioned and really do look like they could make the most of their lives. Plus, despite all four of them are all different personalities and grew up and live in different backgrounds, they are all equally as cool as each other (so not really cool at all). In the series, Simon Bird gave the best performance as Will McKenzie and he reprises the role in the film. Once again, Bird provides the exact definition of a typical geek and a gentleman and gives a performance to remember! Having bought back memories of Seann William Scott as Steve Stifler (American Pie films) and Jacob Pitts as Cooper Harris (EuroTrip), James Buckley gives an absolutely fantastic performance as Jay Cartwright. He expressed a typical sex-obsessed teenager, but as the film progressed, there was a newly revealed side to Jay as he slowly transforms from the boy he once was, to the man he has now become.


Neil Sutherland is my personal favourite of the gang, and he is perhaps the strongest and most extraordinary character out of them. In the series, he is the slowest and the most unintelligent guy. However, in the film, although he still feels like the same Neil in the series, we see a slightly different and new Neil where his true colours are exposed. Blake Harrison gives such a fantastic performance, and he was born for that character. As for the final lad in the gang, Simon Cooper: he is still annoyingly obsessed and is still being strung along by the cold-hearted Carli D’Amato. As annoying as Simon is and is perhaps the biggest loser of the four, he perfectly demonstrates that some young men are well-intentioned in relationships but women aren’t, so that does make him still a good character. Although they’ll still feel like the Inbetweeners, Simon, James, Blake and Joe should stick around and be part of some other major projects in the near future. Emily Head, Greg Davies, Belinda Stewart-Wilson, Alex MacQueen, David Schaal, Martin Trenaman and Robin Weaver reprise their small supporting roles from the series into the film. So, it was good to see them return once more.


New stars Laura Haddock, Tamla Kari, Jessica Knappet and Lydia Rose Bewley are given the honours of portraying Alison (love interest of Will), Lucy (love interest of Simon), Lisa (love interest of Neil) and Jane (love interest of Jay), and they are all just like the four boys who are all almost totally different kinds of people yet they all bond together somehow because they stick together. All of the girls are exactly what all of the boys need in order for them to move on and take the next step in life, especially between Lucy and Simon and Jay and Jane. Although Tamla Kari as Lucy is perhaps the most appealing on the eyes of the four, Laura Haddock delivers the best performance as Alison. A character like Alison proves that although her and Will are perhaps a very strange match due to looks, but they both bond together, share each other’s feelings and understand each other.


On two occasions, we have seen Ben Palmer’s work as director in the second and third series of The Inbetweeners, he makes his return as director of the feature film. Despite already knowing exactly what to expect, he didn’t let slip the reality or the feelings from the original series feel almost the same. As far as the technical side of The Inbetweeners as a whole is that the editing of the film has been impressive and due to the backgrounds settings, it feels like it’s really happening (almost like a documentary on a few occasions). After all three seasons and the feature film, Damon Beesley and Iain Morris really have written some of the finest comedy screenplays in recent memory. Considering that it is filled with perhaps the most vulgar jokes you could possibly imagine and where it does suffer from repetition the most, the humour in both the film and the series isn’t anything like we had seen previously. The most remarkable concept about The Inbetweeners is that although we are aware that it is scripted, of course, but it is so accurately written by expressing the behaviour of British teenagers in general.


Overall, The Inbetweeners Movie is a true summer film that is full of sun, hot babes and hilarious comedy! It is a lesson to teenage comedies and to summer comedies that this is exactly how it’s done and has it all, just like in the TV series. Therefore, it proves itself to be one of the finest achievements in British cinema of this generation, in the comedy genre and a very strong farewell!

Having being a victim of release delays and distribution issues since filming concluded in late 2008/early 2009, and although it wasn't released at all cinemas or for a long time when at some cinemas, The Tree Of Life was finally released in May 2011. Due to it's eerie, surrealistic and experimental elements that are featured within, it could possibly be a new landmark in modern cinema. So for that reason, expectations were exceedingly high. In the past, we have seen motion pictures involving their own theories of life and how it begun, how the universe formed and what the future could be in store for us. The Tree Of Life takes us on many adventures, and perhaps a series of them that we hadn't experienced in a very long time, if not the first. It beautifully redefines all the beauty and perhaps the uniqueness of nature both on Earth and in the Universe, the innocence, the troubles and the close bonds between human beings and perhaps most importantly, a surrealistic vision of childhood itself. So this is a film that truly could lead you to tears. The magnificent music by Alexandre Desplat was like the icing on the cake, making it the final content in the mixture to make it an almost perfectly produced motion picture.


Nowadays, cinema is becoming something that is now simply just for people to think of cheesy storylines and with overloading computer-generated effects. The Tree Of Life was released during this era that not only once honors similar older films from the past generation; especially 2001: A Space Odyssey due to the eerie music score and to the familiar imagery shots of the universe, but it also shows a whole new side to cinema. This film reveals that cinema is in fact a form of fine art both visually and theoretically, so it has its concepts that are interesting towards admirers of any kind of artist. It also has a profound religious sense, but whether one is religious or not, it doesn't necessarily matter because the features within the film don't require anything to do with that or any beliefs.


As there probably was many actors who wanted the leading role in The Tree Of Life, Brad Pitt was the chosen actor to take the honours of being the leading actor as he portrays Mr. O'Brien (he was also one of the producers of the film too). When Brad was in the early stages of his career, he was a heartthrob and now that he has hit the middle age and has taken the leading role in recent Oscar nominated films The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button by David Fincher and Inglourious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino, we are now seeing a whole new side to Brad and his acting talents. He has normally played heroic and charming characters, but in all three films as previously mentioned, he begins to act as something extraordinary and perhaps more towards his own age. Mr O'Brien is a well-intentioned father who wants the best for his kids, but at the same time, he is quite abrupt towards them (especially Jack) and rather strict. So that is two new personality types that we see from Brad in a film. Brad rightly deserves an Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Actor, so hopefully he'll be a strong contender to win like he should be.


Before The Tree Of Life was released, Jessica Chastain was an actress who was hardly a Hollywood actress and one who not that many people were familiar with. However, this is truly her breakthrough film and performance as she portrays Mrs. O'Brien. She expresses the perfect nature of a true mother by wanting the best for her kids, try to make them happy and taking good care of them. Together, Chastain and Pitt act like Adam and Eve so to speak seeing as we are taken into imagery shots of life forms and then a child is born as a follow-up and it is like the generation of human beings have continued.


Although Sean Penn in fact isn't involved in The Tree Of Life as much as expected, he provides another very special performance. We don't really see middle-aged Jack speak very often, and we're just swept into a whole new world alongside him. When we do, we are there with Jack equally feeling the emotions of seeing his family again, and the pride to discover the true meaning of life and the existence of faith, which is what the purpose of the film was in the first place. Penn's performance perfectly shows that acting isn't always about words, and he isn't the first person to pass on this message so brilliantly. Holly Hunter achieved this in 1993 and that her an Academy Award for Best Leading Actress. Sean Penn is perhaps an Oscar worthy contender for Best Supporting Actor.


Hunter McCracken had a lot on his shoulders as he was cast as young Jack, and what we have got from him is definitely the best acting performance from a child star that there has been in quite a while. McCracken worked incredibly well alongside Jessica Chastain as a solid and normal mother-son relationship, but he was even better alongside Brad Pitt due to the love-hate relationship that Jack had with his father. Due to the Academy's occasionally-biased attitude towards young actors and their performances, McCracken might miss out on being a contender, but he should win the Critics Choice Award for Best Young Actor/Actress.


Terrence Malick, a director who I am familiar with but not a huge admirer of, directs only his fifth feature film in his career (other films include Badlands, Days Of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World) considering he is almost 70 years old. He goes on to make his masterpiece and it could earn him Oscar glory at the upcoming 84th Academy Awards. Being one who disliked his previous film The New World, The Tree Of Life has truly made up for that! Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life is Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Federico Fellini's 8 1/2 and perhaps Disney's Fantasia which a unique 'story', with artistic visual designs and with different concepts of spine-chilling music. You could really tell how dedicated Terrence Malick was to this project seeing as it wasn't only his fifth film in almost 40 years with a lot of narrative dialogue within the script during scenes in both Texas and imagery scenes of the Universe and of nature on Earth. Although, we don't see that many casual conversations, Malick writes the script as if it is the imagery footage and the music are telling the story, and that is a very difficult task!


Overall, The Tree Of Life is the latest cinematic landmark and is the biggest breakthrough since Avatar in 2009 (only for it's effects). The film expresses something very important to the audience; not so much a message, but it's more like a lesson seeing as it is showing that is how life could have begun and a visual as well as theoretical vision of what the afterlife could be like. No, The Tree Of Life isn't going to be something that everyone will watch, it will require patience to watch and perhaps won't be a popular film worldwide like many films nowadays, but in modern cinema and hopefully to the Academy, it makes its mark and achieves something new and makes the audience have a few minutes thoughts afterwards.

Curious questions were asked about what the outcome and the features within Super 8 were going to be after a unique and eerie theatrical trailer. It looked like it could deliver something that is perhaps ridiculously-ingenious so to speak, like a film similar to District 9. So for this reason, it became one of the most anticipating films of 2011! However, despite the exceedingly high expectations, it turned out something that was still at least enjoyable to watch, but quite frankly, it was a disappointment and there are reasons for this.


Lets face it, how many times have we seen films featuring a specific neighbourhood that becomes invaded by mysterious extra terrestrial creatures? It just didn't express anything different that we hadn't seen before in any film, so it felt a lot like a recent attempt at War Of The Worlds. The aliens just had no personality at all and it was just this blood-thirsty monster that causes chaos and mayhem with no background story of how and why it ended up there. However, despite that Super 8 does have its flaws, it does have its strong points. The most obvious one: the effects. It was beautifully filmed that did feature interesting action scenes that weren't explosion after explosion, like those atrocious Transformers films.


Super 8 features an ensemble cast of young actors and actresses that have some resemblances with the kids, now grown adults from 80s adventure-comedy film The Goonies. Joel Courtney takes the leading role as protagonist Joe Lamb. The strongest key point about the character of Joe is that he resembles the innocence, soft-hearted nature and perhaps the physical appearance of Elliott in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Elle Fanning, the younger sister of famous child actor Dakota Fanning rises to fame as Alice. After Dakota's appearance in a similar film to this: War Of The Worlds, Elle makes her mark and gives a great performance in another Spielberg-involved film.


The rest of the cast included other young actors who gave good performances in their respective roles. Riley Griffiths was brilliant as Charles Kaznyk! Charles is the young man who seeks to make a low-budget zombie movie on Super 8 film. He is at times arrogant and quite bossy especially when wanting to make his movie. Seeing young kids making a low-budget movie bought back similarities to Son Of Rambow, although it was a different style of movie. Having said that, it could have turned out something really special if it was a film just about kids making a movie instead of mixing it with War Of The Worlds-like terrorism from extra-terrestrials. It's like the film began with one story and then became totally different and the beginning story involving the movie felt abandoned. Despite that, the young actors still gave solid performances and really hope to see them all in other films in the future.


After being one of the directors, co-creaters, producers, writers and executive producers of a few episodes from TV show Lost and then going on to directing the surprising breakthrough Star Trek, he goes on to direct something that is his kind of filmmaking style. During the production process of Super 8, there were speculations that this was in fact either a prequel or sequel to Cloverfield, a film that Abrams himself produced. However, Super 8 tried to be a film on its own, but it really wasn't by copying the ideas from other films and mixing them together. Having said that the dialogue idea wasn't all that great, it was still magnificently filmed. You could very easily identify that Steven Spielberg was involved in this one due to the background similarities of his three science fiction films E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and, of course War Of The Worlds. Super 8 lacked the warmth and the drama between the characters, the courage and perhaps even the intense suspense.


Overall, Super 8 isn't a bad film at all, it was just a tad bit of a disappointment because the trailer looked promising, so therefore I was expecting more from it. It is still an enjoyable film to watch. It was trying to re-live the brilliance and pure beauty of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and the intense thrills of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, but that simply cannot happen to them. Both J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg can do better, and hope that the films that they do in the future will make up for this one. Abrams and Super 8 will battle with Duncan Jones and Source Code for most intense and exhilarating film of 2011, but I'd rather stick with the latter.

Many times over the years, we have seen films involving underwater adventures jumbled with disasters and chaos along the way from the likes of The Abyss, The Poseidon Adventure, it's remake Poseidon, possibly Titanic amongst others. It is safe to say that these films perhaps aren't for the faint hearted and definitely aren't the greatest kinds of films to have been made. However, the fact that the film had been filmed and scheduled for release in 3D actually made the 3D not seem pointless for a change since Avatar's release in December 2009.


The film itself has a very corny and predictable dialogue, but the 3D experience would have been beyond words! Being one who never actually saw it in 3D or at the cinema, I now take it with deep regret that I hadn't considered seeing Sanctum in 3D whether it was going to be a good film or not. The cinematography was just magnificent! Although it probably won't gain any recognition, the film does deserve an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography. It is an impressive film to see if you're a deep admirer of photography and nature, so that at the same time makes it a beautiful film too.


Although the filming of Sanctum was just fantastic, not in a long time has there been a more plain, empty and soulless ensemble cast in a film. The reason why the characters just weren't interesting was that you just do not feel hardly anything for them in their situation and they just lack understanding the idea that they are in a lot of trouble. Ioan Gruffudd was the only actor in the film that I was familiar with. Although he has never been a solid actor and that his performance in Sanctum wasn't all that great as predicted, but he was at least convincing enough to take seriously.


Richard Roxburgh unfortunately was a lame leading actor as the group leader, Frank. He was a confusing character because on one side, he was a bitter cold-hearted old man yet he became a big softy father. That is what this situation in the caves turned him into. Rhys Wakefield as Josh became one of the instantly dislikeable characters you could possibly watch in a film, and for that reason, he just needed to be killed off. There was just nothing there, no courage to get out, no emotional bond between him and his father Frank and just no bond with any of the other characters.


Obviously, everybody watching this will completely abandon the directorí Alister Grieson's work and focus on James Cameron's involvement as one of the producers in Sanctum. This is a typical film that James Cameron would be associated with, and you can tell that he was part of it due to the filming. Having said that he wasn't actually the director of the film, the filming style was just like in The Abyss; apart from the improved technological effects. Alister Grieson is one of those directors who nobody had even heard of before, but will now after working alongside one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Having said that he was actually the director, I'm not entirely sure he could have pulled it off as a success without Cameron's help. In the majority of weak stories, there is clearly going to be a weak screenplay added into the mixture. So, there wasn't any surprises about the weak script, but one specific section of the script that was really shocking was the last line in the very rushed ending. It's beyond me how that can still be kept as part of the script after such a magnificent production process!


Overall, Sanctum is admittedly a deeply-flawed film, but cannot help but still find an entertaining film to go ahead and enjoy. Therefore, it is one of those rare films where you just need to ignore the flaws and just have some fun and get as much entertainment from it as possible, especially in 3D and blu-ray. If there is anything that Sanctum has taught us about 3D, it is that it only looks good when a film is filmed in 3D and having a lot of close-up shots and colourful visual backgrounds. Hopefully, this film has taught a valuable lesson to other directors willing to convert 2D films into 3D, and won't be seeing many of them again in the upcoming future.

As we have seen quite frequently over the current generation, there have been numerous long-awaited follow-ups (especially a fourth film) to a series that have been released at least over a decade since its most recent predecessor (Toy Story 3, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, TRON Legacy and Rambo are other examples). After how Scream 3 turned out, there wasn't anything crucial that happened that could make this series continue even further, so quite frankly, a fourth Scream film wasn't needed.


Having not been expecting very much from this to start off with due to the fact that as the films in the series carried on and nothing was changing, naturally this fourth installment just wasn't scary nor uncomfortably difficult to watch. It's the fact that they don't change at all in the intense moments, they just become very predictable and therefore quite boring especially when at the beginning, the killings by ghost face were taken seriously, but now they're taken as a joke throughout most of the time by prank calls and the Stab films in the three sequels. Scream 4 is more or less an attempt at not intentionally rebooting the series, but seeking to make something that feels new in this following generation. So, this attempt backfired on itself and just didn't work.


After 11 years, Neve Campbell returns and reprises her role for the fourth time as Sidney Prescott, but once again feels the psychotic presence of ghost face. After already meeting father, having a brief description and idea of her mother before she died and meeting her later-revealed half brother, there was more family in the picture. This time it was her aunt Kate and her cousin Gill who have been putting themselves in harms way due to Sidney's return. Unfortunately, Sidney wasn't the brave, heroic and rather traumatized young woman that we saw in the three previous films because all the stories were told and this one felt like a lazy add-in so to speak. Her entire character is cursed around others so what would be extraordinary if there'll be a fifth installment, that Sidney actually be killed off once and for all.


Only recently separated couple Courtney Cox and David Arquette reprise their roles for the fourth time as Gale Weathers and Dewey. Their performances were again convincing enough, but I think there was something missing especially for Gale. She is very different in Scream 4 to when she left off Scream 3, so there was an in-between story of her situation and how her life has progressively changed. They are both there together unravelling the next mystery, and like Sidney: wouldn't you have thought that after revealing all the investigations and putting themselves in harm's way, they would have been killed by now once and for all? A Scream film would be interesting if another future film ends like this. We also saw a brief appearance from Anna Paquin and Juliette Lewis.


Having been the director of the first three films in the franchise, Wes Craven returns as director of the fourth installment. I have noticed that due to the fact that it has been the same director for all four, no wonder nothing has altered and improvised! If they had a different character for this one and maybe even Scream 2 and Scream 3 too because then it could have really improvised, or could have simply flopped. Scream 4 really lacked the feelings of terror, emotion or even realistic violence, hence why this is perhaps the weakest and most clichÈd of the Scream franchise. Like Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson returns to the series as the screenwriter, but admittedly the script was rather lame in the phone call scenes from ghost face, the plot twist that leads to the revealed identity of the killer and the motive explanation was flat and badly written. Williamson isn't a bad screenwriter at all, but Scream 4 was his Anchille's tendon, and he needs to rise back on his feet.


Overall, Scream 4 is exactly like the third film: deeply flawed but still fun film to watch. Having said that there are a number of weaknesses that Scream 4 had and already predicting it to be both good and bad, I went into this with an open mind and just tried to enjoy it. So, it was enjoyable enough, but they should just leave the series alone now and move on because it's made its mark and served its purpose. Plus, there aren't any more solid ideas for the series to continue, not to mention the edge-of-seat suspense and unpredictability has been killed off now. It needs to be put on the shelf now.

Four years before, we had the terrifying and graphically disturbing first installment in the Scream franchise and then a year later we had a terrifying sequel. However, just at the start of the new millennium and century, we have a third installment in the series where we see old faces return with new stories. Having said that the first two installments are awesome, there was a feeling about the third film that wasn't entirely convincing to come out and fully enjoy. So, therefore it would go a little out of hand, and quite frankly, in a few ways it did.


Scream 3 felt quite lazy due to the fact that now suspenseful situations became very predictable, it would end and begin almost identically to the predecessors and there was clearly going to be a twist, but even that didn't feel like a twist seeing as we knew there was one coming. The most surprising thing about Scream 3 was the fact that at times, it was like a surreal psychological thriller.


Sidney is hibernating in the woods, her whereabouts unbeknownst to everyone but Dewey. After a number of murders that seem to be related to the Woodsboro case take place on the set of Stab 3, Sid comes to Hollywood to be terrorized, find out more about her mother's death, and put together the final pieces of the Scream mystery.


For the third consecutive time, Neve Campbell returns to the role of Sidney Prescott, but this time we see a slightly different person now. We are taken further into not only Sidney's past, but her mother's past before she was murdered which projects visions in Sidney's head and we see it for ourselves. Questions arise about Sidney's sanity and whether all the cases (and maybe even the survived characters are inside her head). This doesn't lead to a villainous side to Sidney, but to a mildly psychologically disturbed Sidney after the events of the two predecessors and in the third installment. Sidney is the exact kind of character who was born cursed so to speak, because everybody who she befriends who gets close to either betrays her or get killed, and all of these killings tell us all a message saying that everything happens in this world for a reason.


Real-life spouses David Arquette and Courtney Cox reprise their roles as Dwight 'Dewey' Riley and Gale Weathers to once again investigate the murders and to unravel the mysterious identity in the ghost mask. Dewey is still a sheriff and a close friend of Sidney's who is still serving the exact same purpose. As for Gale, I cannot get my head round the fact that there has to be an impostor Gale Weathers from the Stab movies featured in the films who just lingers along with the real one hopelessly trying to be her. It just didn't really work and got a bit silly. Despite their identities are being used by somebody else them and never mind Sidney Prescott, Dewey and Gale get themselves into life-threatening situations like Sidney does and they get in harms way, yet they just do not seem to die! As for their performances, it pretty much sums up a typical husband-wife married relationship, even though they aren't always together in this one. It was moaning and complaining all the time and both of them lacked their original heroic status like they earned in the first two.


Wes Craven should know by now as more films in a franchise are released, whether it is massively or only a little bit, the sequels are going to feel weaker. His Nightmare On Elm Street went weak and less terrifying after the first film, and I regret to say that lightning has struck twice, although Scream 2 was a very enjoyable sequel. Craven tends to just make the same continuously and nothing is altered, therefore it gets quite boring. Kevin Williamson is a screenwriter who I admire writing scripts from someone else, and he writes another script in the third installment. However, this time although there were a few interesting segments and a decent twist (even though we all knew there was going to be one anyway) but the film at times felt like it was needlessly continuing, so there could have been at least 10 minutes cut from it.


Overall, Scream 3 as predicted wasn't entirely as impressive or as terrifying to watch as its predecessors, but it really wasn't a bad follow-up and final film in the trilogy.. that is until 2011 with the release of Scream 4. There are still specific places within the film where it could have been much better than it turned out, but it still remains an at least satisfactory third installment in the Scream franchise that is worth a try.

Having loved Scream and that the story had been told, personally I thought that a sequel wasn't really needed, but that is what we have got. Expectations were neither high nor low, and there was bound to be something new in this one that we hadn't discovered in the predecessor. Did Scream 2 reach up to the masterful standard of the first film? Definitely not! Like most sequels that don't have a follow-up story to its predecessor, Scream 2 is like the first one all over again with the same openings and endings but with different yet slightly weaker plot twists and turns. The Hangover: Part II and Home Alone: Lost In New York are examples.


The best bit of credit that can be given to this sequel is that after the few plot twists and turns, there were a few questions that were asked about the first film that were answered in this one. There were the intense thrills that were still there in this one, which is where a major part of the first film came back and followed. Beside the genre, the Scream franchise is a lot like the Rocky franchise, mostly due to the fact that after one masterful first film, the sequels just feel slightly weaker as they progress so therefore almost needlessly continue, but still are fun to watch.


It has been two years since the tragic events at Woodsboro. Sidney Prescott and Randy Meeks are trying to get on with their lives, and are currently both students at Windsor College. Cotton Weary is out of prison, and is trying to cash in on his unfortunate incarceration. Gale Weathers has written a bestseller, "The Woodsboro Murders," which has been turned into the film, "Stab," starring Tori Spelling as Sidney. As the film's play date approaches, the cycle of death begins anew. Dewey Riley immediately flies out of Woodsboro to try to protect Sidney, his "surrogate sister." But in this sequel to the 1996 horror film, the number of suspects only goes down as the body count slowly goes up!


Neve Campbell reprises her role as Sidney Prescott, who has moved on with her life after 2 years and the events that occurred in the first film. However, the figure in the ghost mask and black robe hasn't left her alone just yet and has come back to terrorize her even further. There were a few personality changes to Sidney in this one than in the first film, and they were that she felt a bit more badass, braver and more of a heroic fighter. So, that is why her role as Prescott is just as special in this one as the first film. Sidney isn't a young teenager now, she's a grown woman! Courtney Cox returns as news reporter Gale Weathers, and comes back once again to investigate the murders and back to question and interrogate Sidney all over again. Unfortunately, I didn't take a strong liking to Cox as Gale in this one because there wasn't anything that changed about the character, apart from the soppy and possible love bond between her and Dewey.


Having said that Courtney Cox and David Arquette were real-life spouses at the time, that just killed the bond between Gale and Dewey. Arquette makes his return as Dewey and seeks to not only look after Sidney, but to help put an end to the ghost face killer after his sister's murder in the previous film (but not the same true identity of the ghost face killer). So, although his sister Tatum was hardly mentioned in this one, it still seemed like Dewey wanted to end it all once and for all. Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a brief appearance in the sequel as well.


Wes Craven returns as director of the sequel and still adds the horror and the suspense that we saw previously, but at the same time felt slightly different. We also knew that that the ghost face character is an influence from the actions and some movies but this lacked detail of this. However, there is a movie inside the film that is based upon the events of everything that happens in the first film, and it's called Stab which later becomes a franchise, so that was quite strange. In this one, there is a copycat murderer who is after Sidney again who was influenced by the previous killers in the ghost face mask and black robe. On the other hand, that is a good thing because that is where it felt slightly different and copy everything form its predecessor.


Overall, Scream 2 is a sequel that has its similarities and differences with the previous film, but still is very fun and exciting to watch! This one tries to do the same as what the first one did: give a bow or a hug so to speak to other thrillers of the past, but it just didn't feel the same. This is like the Rocky II of the Scream films: a sequel that didn't need to be made after its outstanding predecessor, but was worthy enough to still find very enjoyable and would still achieve it's purpose and get the approval of its target audience.

First we had A Nightmare On Elm Street in 1984, which became the breakthrough in the slasher category, and in 1996, we had Scream that also made a massive impact, not only for slasher films, but the thriller genre itself. Scream honors the older thrillers with the haunting music, the plot twists and turns and the rather basic yet extraordinary filmmaking that became the start of something new. However, that new hope so to speak hasn't been very promising because there hasn't really been very many masterful thrillers since this one was released.


The most extraordinary facts about Scream are the ways the characters use the references of movies themselves (specifically horrors and thrillers) and how they become big influences to some people for good and bad. It takes deep admiration to mix discussed movies in a movie, horrific violence from someone in a black rope and white ghost mask and a very powerful background story behind it and still be a giant success, which is exactly what this became. One thing that is quite a surprising lesson within Scream regarding some of the discussed movies and perhaps movies in general, are that they sometimes go off trap and do not entertain. Therefore, some of them can influence more crime and terrorism within the world, and Scream gives us a very solid lesson about that. It has also increased excitement and influence on the Halloween occasion too.


A peaceful town in California turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer haunts the town. Sidney Prescott, a young teenage girl, whose mother was killed a year before, becomes the target of the mask killer! Her boyfriend Billy Loomis becomes the main suspect along with Sidney's father. Local Tabloid News Reporter Gail Weathers and Woodsboro's Deputy Dwight "Dewey" Riley investigate and try to figure out who the killer is and if it's the same person who killed Sid's mom the year before!


Although we recognize Wes Craven as director of A Nightmare On Elm Street, the majority of the cast within the film were a group of newcomers and soon-to-be shining stars. Neve Campbell leads the pack and portrays the protagonist of the story - Sidney Prescott. Sidney is a very strong and rather important character because she expresses the troubles that a lot of teenagers have, as far as her past is concerned and her occasionally troubled behaviour. Campbell was cast perfectly as Sidney due to her beauty and there was a worn-down teenager inside, so she portrayed that brilliantly. Skeet Ulrich, an almost identical look-a-like to Johnny Depp in A Nightmare On Elm Street, portrays Sidney's boyfriend Billy. It is Billy's movie influences that makes him quite a strong yet quite a hidden and secretive character, and becomes quite a shock as the film progresses.


Courtney Cox plays news reporter Gale Weathers. Gale is one of those characters who really only cares about what she gets and what she can achieve from a case, hence one of the reasons why she doesn't get along well with Sidney. Cox provides not only a cocky yet soon to be heroic side to Gale, but a very sexy style at the same time; especially with the bond she has with Dwight ìDewey' Riley. David Arquette makes his breakthrough role as Dewey, as he helps to investigate the murders within the town as well as slowly falling for Gale Weathers.


After he gave us A Nightmare On Elm Street, Wes Craven goes both somewhere different (the theme, characters and story) and back to what he does best: terrifying the viewers with the violence and haunting suspense. He doesn't quite make thrillers as intense or as psychologically dark as the late Alfred Hitchcock did, but after giving us both of these films, Craven really isn't very far behind. Kevin Williamson wrote a ingeniously creative screenplay by mixing reality with movie references. Together Craven, Williamson and the cast perfectly demonstrates why horrors and thrillers together are my personal favourite genre, because it attracts the audience's attention, you get the most fun from it, there are shocking twists and turns and they are filmed in most extraordinary ways.


Overall, Scream is a terrifying thriller that is a big hug to thrillers of the older generation, but at the same time is a hand reaching out so to speak for more films to follow and continue this great run of thrillers! Just like A Nightmare On Elm Street, Jaws and perhaps Friday The 13th and Halloween too, Scream is one of those films that didn't really need a franchise due to the fact that the story has been told and we know the characters well enough, not to mention they'll kill the series. Despite this, this is an outstanding first installment to a horrifying and intense franchise!