Classic Movie Review: Night of the Living Dead (1990)

Adam's thoughts:
4 pops

For me this set the standard for traditional Zombie movies. It was low budget and yet you felt like you were watching a truly good cinema. Now don’t get me wrong, at this point in the present movies made back in 1990 can seem cheesy, especially the horror movies. Director Tom Savini did an alright job and writers John A. Russo and George A. Romero were a great team. Actress Patricia Tallman was about the only really good thing to see in this movie. Tony Todds acting was a bit over played and dramatic but you still ended up liking his character. The movie zombies were the best. The classic moaning and slow walking undead you expect. They looked dead too and for a movie that doesn’t have any cgi or crap in it, that is a major accomplishment.

About the only thing I can say badly about this movie was the damn screaming! Katie Finneran is in this movie playing a character named Judy Rose and the chick screams every 5 seconds! It gets to the point where you are wincing and holding your ears. That's about the only bad thing I can say about this movie. The rest of it is just plain classic. If you’ve never seen this movie and you enjoy the classics, go see it. It’s not overly scary but it has its moments. Mostly it’s just a good old zombie flick.

Jessie's thoughts:
3 pops

So... this was pretty classic, I'm not gonna lie. I agree with Adam that the zombies were amazing. They looked so real and were actually what you think of when you think of zombies - the walking dead. I'm so sick of how people now-a-days try to explain why the zombies are the way they are - there was an infection that got loose, some sort of chemical warfare, no one knows exactly but we think it's because of blah, blah, blah. Zombies are supposed to be the walking dead, does there really have to be a reason that they've come back to eat people? I think not! In that sense, this movie was awesome. Nobody knew why there were zombies that were trying to eat people, they just knew that they had to kill the zombies before the zombies could kill them.
However there were a couple of things that I didn't like, but I think that's mostly because this was made in 1990 and I'm just used to movies now. The first thing was what Adam said - the screaming. I mean, come on chick, there are flesh eating zombies everywhere and you're gonna scream every two seconds so you can attract even more of them to you? Really? You're an idiot. The second thing I didn't like was that at first all the women were portrayed in the stereotypical, early 90's way of being helpless and only being good for screaming and running. But, that later turned to something that I liked with one of the women because she became pretty badass as the movie went on. The movie was also very low budget and it shows. But, I think that knowing that this was an independent, low-budget film made in 1990 actually made me appreciate it a little bit more because you can see how much they were able to do with the little that they had.
Overall, I definitely think this is a classic horror movie that you must see if you like horror movies at all. It began the whole zombie craze, and who doesn't love zombies? I mean, really, zombies make the best villains. So, on one of those nights when you really don't have anything to do and you're in the mood for a cheesy, classic horror movie, you should for sure watch this one.

Shutter Island

Jessie's thoughts:
4 pops

You know, this movie was pretty “wow”. It was appropriately creepy at times but it was more suspenseful than an actual horror. It was definitely the type of movie that will get into your head and really make you think about it after you watch it.
What I really liked and enjoyed about it was that I thought I knew exactly what was going on and what was gonna happen and then at the end I realized that I was totally wrong. Part of it was somewhat predictable but the details are what threw me. I actually would love to go see this movie a second time now that I know what happens. It’s one of those movies that you kind of have to see twice, I think, to completely appreciate all the subtle hints and imagery.
Now, even though this was a very psychologically thrilling movie, there were some parts that were kind of slow. Don’t get me wrong, 95% of the time I was totally into the movie and really, really enjoyed it, but it was that other 5% that kept this from getting 5 pops from me. There were just a few places that kind of lagged. But that’s really the only bad thing I can say about it, and that’s really not too big of a deal. Leonardo DiCaprio was wonderful as usual, Mark Ruffalo was equally impressive, and the storyline was very unique and entertaining. This is a definite must see.

Adam's thoughts:
4 pops

I was very impressed with this movie. I find myself pleasantly surprised when I watch a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio in it. He is a brilliant actor and I think sometimes he is overlooked. The movie itself was a surprise, I found myself enjoying this movie when I did not have very high expectations. It took you on a compelling ride of the mind. One moment you believe you know what is going on and then the next they reveal a loop. I thought I had figured the movie out in the beginning but there were definitely some twists I did not see coming. Director Martin Scorsese did a wonderful job in capturing the theme in this film. You wanted to know what would happen next, something a lot of films are messing up these days.

The film could have used a little bit of a pick up. The only bad thing I can say about it was that it was slow. You spent a lot of time in his dreams and a lot of time in the man's head before anything revealing happened. Of course, most of it was to hint at the twist at the end but maybe in its delivery it could have been done differently. But even in this negative statement I still don’t find it that bad of a quality. It wasn’t as slow as some other movies and still kept me entertained.

I highly recommend you see this movie, I don’t know if you have to see it in theaters but I think on the big screen it was more enjoyable. The theme and the actors managed to come across better at least in my mind. If you don’t want to push the dough to see it in theaters then you have to rent this one. It's worth watching.

Top 5: Horror

Adam's Top 5:

5. Shaun of the Dead - Now I know some of you are thinking wait… that’s not a horror film. I don’t care its being placed in this category. It has a couple of scary moments and plenty of zombies therefore it fits. Simon Pegg and his co-star Nick Frost did a wonderful job. There were a lot of laughs in this movie and if you haven’t seen it you need to. You know you and your friends have talked about what you would do in a zombie apocalypse. I bet none of you had the bright idea of holding up in a bar. These two did and that gives them bonus points. Zombies and Beer. Hello heaven.

4. The Blair Witch Project - Okay so I know the camera work was shitty and the acting wasn’t all that great. Who wants to stare up that chick’s nose for 40 minutes while she cries. I swear that part had me dry vomiting. But all that aside, it was re-inventing. The fact that the group managed to get a lot of people psyched and believing that this crap was real before the movie even came out was brilliant. The movie itself even had is scary moments and although it caused some people motion sickness, it had a way of putting you ‘there’. If anyone’s ever been on a camping trip and been scared out of their mind then this movie will hit home. It’s at least worth watching ‘once’ in your life.

3. Halloween (The Rob Zombie re-make) - So the classic in itself is good, but Mr. Zombie did an excellent job remaking it in his own image. He was able to still keep it in it's classic style but put enough modern twist to it that it brought the ‘scare’ back into Halloween. Even the music was brought back and can now re-install terror into the minds of people who didn’t have the chance to be scared by the first one. For that and his way of recapturing the old film, Mr. Zombie gets placed on the number 3 list.

2. The Grudge - This movie I know didn’t scare many. But it hit home with me. One, it was a classic Japanese horror story brought to life in the real world. It was one of the better movies Sarah Michelle Gellar was in. I think what made it for me was that it was ‘different’ than some of the horror movies that had been out at the time. True supernatural terror. Those little kids were scary as hell and kept me up for weeks. One of my friends had managed to mimic that low crawl throat noise one of the monsters did and he scared me for hours by creeping up behind me and doing that. Now, I’m no little girl when it comes to scary movies but for some reason this one struck home with me. Once again as far as horror movies go this one you need to go see at least once. For some people it wont be scary at all, for others it will be a one time watch and then a week of no sleep.

1. Paranormal Activity - HOLY CRAP. Okay so if the damn Grudge was scary this one was terrifying! This group of college kids who put this movie out knew EXACTLY what to do. The whole movie is filmed on low budget equipment and had a cast of about 5 people. Didn’t matter. I’m telling you kids, keep an eye on Oren Pili. The guy is going to make some excellent horror films in the future. This movie started with a low creep up your spine until you were about ready to wet yourself. The ending wasn’t exactly what you expect but it was enough of a hit that it left you shaking. I’m STILL having nightmares about that movie and it’s been out for a while now. If you haven’t seen it, it is a must rent! The movie is out now on DVD and from what I understand it has an alternate ending that you can watch. I might rent it to see the alternate ending but I’m still not sure if I’m over how scary it was. This hits home on my number 1 list just because of how scared it made me. If a movie can freak me out that bad it deserves this spot in my horror movie collection.

Jessie's Top 5:

So, before I start this list, I think you should know that my absolute favorite genre is horror. I love anything even remotely categorized as scary and it was incredibly difficult to pick just 5 top horror movies and I’m sure that I’m forgetting some that I absolutely love and just can’t think of right now. I decided to base my list on the top 5 movies that scared me the most. These are all movies that gave me nightmares and still to this day will sometimes pop into my head at night and creep me out.


5. The Skeleton Key – This had the most unique story line and it was definitely creepy. I think this one was more of a psychologically scary movie but it for sure got into my head and really freaked me out. And the twist at the end was just amazing. I did not see that one coming at all and it’s because of that twist that this movie made it on to my list.


4. Quarantine – This genuinely scared the crap out of me. It was so well done with the whole feel-like-you’re-there thing, but it wasn’t the shaky make-you-feel-nauseous camera work like The Blair Witch Project. The story line made sense, it even made sense why there was someone filming the entire thing, and it was truly creepy. It was also a very unique horror movie which you really don’t see too many of these days.


3. The Grudge – Alright, now I know a lot of people thought this movie was stupid but it gave me nightmares for like two weeks. Not even kidding. I still sometimes think that creepy little kid/cat thing is gonna be looking at me from the edge of my bed when I wake up. I wouldn’t even let my sister mention this movie for 3 or 4 months after I saw it, and I still won’t watch it for a second time. Once was enough, thank you very much. Even writing about it is giving me the heebie jeebies.


2. Halloween (the original) – How could you have a top 5 horror movie list and not include the original Halloween? This is my all time favorite scary movie. I think this was the second scary movie that I ever watched (Scream being the first) and it totally got me hooked on this genre. It’s just the ultimate scary movie and it was the first of it’s kind which in and of itself makes it incredible. I mean, what else can I say, it’s Halloween!


1. Paranormal Activity – This was the most original, most freaky movie that I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s definitely true that what you don’t see is a lot creepier than what you do. This movie was done so realistically and it just was incredible. There were actually parts in this movie that I couldn’t watch because the suspense was too great. That’s never happened to me before. There have been movies that I’ve looked away from because the scene was just too gross to watch, but I’ve never had to look away from a movie because I was too scared to see what came next until this one. This was definitely the scariest movie that I’ve ever seen in my life and I think that everyone should see this movie. Well, only if you’re willing to sleep with a light on for the next two weeks…



We know that this is a little different than our usual reviews, but there just wasn't anything playing this weekend that either of us really wanted to watch. Let us know in the comments if you like this type of blog and if you want us to do more like these, or if you'd rather just read the regular reviews.

Edge of Darkness

Jessie's Thoughts:
2 pops

Oh, this was so sad. I was so incredibly excited to see Mel Gibson in another action movie where he played a cop, and I had high expectations for this movie but it just didn’t deliver. Sure, there was Mel Gibson. And come on, he’s like the best actor ever, but even he was not enough to carry this movie. From the previews, it was supposed to be a high action movie where a cop was trying to avenge his daughter’s death. In actuality, it was an incredibly slow, boring movie that I almost fell asleep in a couple of times. In fact, the only reason that I’m giving this movie 2 pops instead of 1 is because Mel Gibson was in it and the rest of the actors did an amazing job. The storyline should have been really cool and interesting, but the delivery was horrible. It literally just crawled along and I just kept hoping that it was over but it never seemed to end!
Mel Gibson was amazing, as always, and the little girl that played his young daughter, Gabrielle Popa, was incredible. Like I said before, it had an awesome, very unique storyline to it as well, but they just totally screwed it up with the delivery. I honestly don’t know what else to say about it. I was extremely disappointed and I really hope that the next movie Mel Gibson does is executed better. This movie was just not good enough for him and it made me sad to watch it. I would not suggest seeing this movie at all unless you’re a Gibson fan, and even then I’m not sure I would suggest seeing it. If you’re not a fan of his, then it’s just not worth the time.

Adam's Thoughts:
2 Pops

So this one wasn’t so good. Don’t get me wrong its worth watching if someone rents it or you see it on HBO. Don’t bother paying the 10 bucks or whatever it costs to see it in theaters. The plotline is ‘alright’ but the only thing this movie has going for it is Mel. The dude is still a superb actor despite the “crazy” parts of his personality. The plotline could have been great if the delivery of it was better. It was overly complex and yet delivered slow. The beat never picked up. The few times action erupted in the movie, it was over quick and there wasn’t enough to really spark this movie as an "action" flick. Not that I think it was intended to be but when the most exciting part of the movie is when Mel shoots his gun and that’s all anyone wants to see? Then you can’t call this movie anything else.

Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t shake my head at anyone if they still end up going to see it. Mel is a good actor and I’m a long time fan so if you feel like spending the cash go see it. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.

When In Rome

Jessie's Thoughts:
3 pops

When In Rome… well… it was good. I mean, if you like romantic comedies then you will love this movie. It had a fairly unique love story (as unique as you can get with a romantic comedy) and it was definitely entertaining. I was literally cracking up at a lot of different parts and I was not bored at any time. Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel are both wonderful actors and they definitely had some chemistry which made it interesting to watch. There’s nothing worse than watching a romantic comedy and being able to tell that the actors can’t stand each other in real life. There were also some other amazing actors in this that definitely did not get enough press. Danny Devito, John Heder and Dax Shepard were amazing in this. They were hilarious and I did not know that any of them were in this movie except Dax Shepard. It was definitely a pleasant surprise to see Danny Devito pop up in this movie especially since I haven’t seen him in anything in so long!
Overall, I think this movie was very enjoyable. It was funny but it still had the romantic thing going on and they couldn’t have gotten better actors for any of the characters. There were some unique aspects to the movie which you just don’t get a lot in romantic comedies. I for sure think that this movie is worth seeing, but you could skip seeing it in the theater. It was funny and very cute, but unless you just absolutely love romantic comedies you can rent this one and still get the same effects.

Adam's Thoughts:
3 Pops

Yes I gave it 3. No I’m not gay. Yes I can like romantic comedies and I don’t need to just say that to get in good with a chick. This thing wasn’t bad. I laughed. I was entertained. You can’t want more from a chick flick like this one. The concept was alright and more appealing then the standard "guy meets girl". Of course it was predictable, what romantic comedy isn’t? But it wasn’t so standard that you lose track or dislike it. I, with my co-reviewer here, agreed that the fact that Devito was in it was a pleasant surprise to me. (No I don’t usually look at the cast listing prior to seeing the movie, I mostly just watch previews like the rest of you do). Strictly from a guys perspective, Kristen Bell is F’n hot. She should be reason enough for a guy to go see this. Just ‘pretend’ your not staring at her when the girl you brought on a date glances at you. If she asks if you think she’s pretty just respond in the safest way imaginable, “Not as pretty as you.” (Insert your smile here). Granted, that might not be the best way to respond but your not reading this for my dating advice. In conclusion for you guys, if you have to take your chick to see something this weekend and she’s screaming it's her pick, this movie isn’t a bad choice; you’ll at least be entertained. Heck, surprise her and offer this as your pick and she might just reward you for being such a nice guy.