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Flightplan is another thriller which does not bore simply because it’s got an innovative plot. The movie follows the story of a mother whose daughter vanishes in a plane 38,000 feet in mid-air intercontinental flight from Europe to New York . The absurdity of it all – from the mother’s point of view – was that no one else in the plane remembered her daughter on board, thereby making the mother herself presuming that she’s delusional. Bordering already on insanity, the mother maintains her conviction that her daughter has really vanished and is on a distressed stage. The mother then embarks on an exclusive search for her daughter.

It’s nice to see Wes Craven make a film minus the slashing. The action scenes in this movie are convincing but Red Eye has an absurd plot. Why conduct an elaborate operation to abduct a hotel manager in mid-flight, and then tell her to transfer a visiting guest at her hotel to another suite so the guest could be assassinated? The plot is really senseless although we viewers can barely notice this since we are paying too much attention to the verbal and physical exchanges happening between Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. Of course, we love those two actors, villain or not. Rachel was the breakthrough actress in The Notebook; Cillian was the hunk known for his frontal nudity in 28 Days Later.

This is the movie where you see Jared Leto does his best as a villain. Panic Room stars veteran actress Jodie Foster who recurs once more her role as a strong woman with conviction. Jodie Foster here has got a daughter Sarah when their home was visited by a burglar. In an instance, mother and daughter leap their way to the panic room in their house where they negotiate and play wits with the burglars led by Jared Leto and another veteran and believable star, Forest Whitaker. This is not your boring slasher movie because this film explores everything so as not to insult the moviegoers’ intelligence. With Jodie Foster in fold, you can surely count Panic Room not to disappoint.

With the current trend being “‘remakes”, the 1998 Japanese film “Ringu” did not escape the eyes of American movie bigwigs, thus the creation of “The Ring”.

The Ring was called as such because it represents “the ring” that crosses our world to the world inside a video…yes, a video. In The Ring, a woman played by Naomi Watts stumbles upon a cursed videotape. When she plays the black-and-white videotape, the woman inside it crawls from the television set and bestows horror upon Naomi’s character and her companions. Now, this film is a very awkward version of the Japanese original. Japanese horror films are really quite scary but once you do a Hollywood makeover on them, they become corny. Nevertheless, with great acting by Watts , great directing by Gore Verbinski (who went on to helm the Pirates of the Carribean series) and a great musical score by Hans Zimmer.

Did this horror flick do well in the movie industry? Dig this, “The Ring” sold more than 2 million DVD copies in the USA alone in its first 24 hours of video release. It’s definitely one horror movie to remember.

When A Stranger Calls is not only known for it being revived thriller, it is known for its star – the lovely and talented Camilla Belle. Camilla is one hot actress to root for if you are a Hollywood agent scouting for potential box office appeal. In this movie, Camilla does justice to all scenes – she can be provocative and scary at the same time. Now, does that not earn a wink? I can even compare Camilla’s scream here similar to what Naomi Watts did in The Ring and King Kong. Watch out for this talent. As for the movie, make it as your time filler.

Trivia:

When a Stranger Calls is a 1979 horror/thriller film starring Carol Kane and Charles Durning, directed by Fred Walton. The original music score is composed by Dana Kaproff.It is followed by the 1993 made-for-television sequel When a Stranger Calls Back. Tagline: Every babysitter’s nightmare becomes real…

Cellular is not your regular horror movie closely associated with the supernatural yet I find this movie more terrifying than those slasher stories and urban legends. Cellular revolves around the story of an abducted woman who randomly dials a cellphone number. The number on the other end happens to belong to a Ryan (played by Chris Evans). Ryan then desperately finds a way to rescue the kidnapped woman (ably played by early 90s screen siren Kim Basinger).

This situation can actually happen to any one of us. If we receive an anonymous emergency call on our cell line, will we treat it as a prank or as a real one? If it is a real emergency, will we risk our lives to help a stranger out or left him/her in the cold? That is a real dilemma. Watch how this film turns out.

I especially remember this 2003 version of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for two reasons: 1st) the presence of Jessica Biel; and 2nd) the movie’s producer is Michael Bay. With Michael Bay as the producer, you can surely watch out for unique camera angles throughout the film, as well as believable gory and action scenes. Then let’s delve on Jessica Biel. This movie is exactly the cause why Jessica was evicted from 7th Heaven. Jessica says she wants to take on more mature roles. And indeed she has, for Jessica here is very sexy, an extreme departure from her stint in 7th Heaven.

The first Texas Chainsaw Massacre was shot in 1973, and it reflected an era of violence in America. It kind of started the trend in unfounded slasher movies. Even then, the cinematography of the 1973 movie was great, and so this 2003 release had a tough act to follow. But it successfully surpassed all the cinematic challenges.

Chris Van Allsburg authored this wonderful book more than 2 decades ago, and it just goes to show that something really wonderful is never really outgrown by many. This is his legacy for the coming generations to enjoy. The power of imagination is endless, especially for kids. Come aboard the Polar Express, be elated, delighted, and enjoy the amazing artistry. It wouldn’t really hurt to buy the DVD, you won’t regret it. It can pretty much be a treasure to keep.

Trivia: This was the first mainstream film to be simultaneously released as a 3D IMAX presentation

Plot Outline: On Christmas Eve, a doubting boy boards a magical train that’s headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus’s home.

The tagline says “Journey Beyond Your Imagination”…well, damn right it is! This movie definitely came right on time during the holiday season of 2004, therefore it was rightfully dubbed as the holiday film event of the year.

Now this is the perfect definition of family entertainment. It’s always nice to see the whole family in action. This is a story of a family of superheroes, who tried their best to be (un)super, but the times would just call for them to be such. I loved each of the lead characters because they’re well-developed, and they depict REAL lives of REAL people.

Elastigirl is so interesting in this movie! Having kids does not prevent one to be cool. Stretching yourself to grab a falling bottle five yards away or eavesdropping a conversation also from that distance is awesome.

Mr. Incredible’s sagging belly (which he eventually had after retiring as a superhero) was one of the things that made his character so relatable.

But the character that I loved most in this movie was the feisty midget costume designer. I thought she’s cute and amusing, and damn filthy rich!

The Incredibles is an extraordinary family-oriented CGI film. It has great animation, great storyline, screenplay, and direction. Truly a Pixar masterpiece! Rated PG

I wonder how Roger Ebert (my idol movie critic) would react to his own review of Cars after the film went on garnering awards. He said Cars was the least beautiful of John Lasseter’s earlier works, Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. I tend to disagree since there are lots of factors that make this movie beautiful. First, the computer filmmakers excruciatingly put the once-glorious Route 66 into detail. To make the movie a comic relief, they cast Owen Wilson. Also, this is the very first movie that I saw which featured cars in lieu of animals as a fable. Even cows were replaced by tractors. Also, I like Paul Newman’s voice performance in this movie. He had really perfected his role as Doc Hudson, the old wise racing car.