Limitless has a pretty interesting plot and it solves several of the problems that modern movies tend to face. While this won’t exactly be an Oscar winning movie, it’s a pretty fun watch. I can’t really say that I was aware of this film before I saw it, but I don’t expect that I’ll be forgetting it anytime soon.

The film is about Eddie and how his life is not going so well. He’s back to being alone and his book isn’t going along so well. He has a serious case of writer’s block and he hasn’t even started yet! Obviously, this guy’s in trouble, but how will he overcome this? Someone that he vaguely knows ends up giving him a pill, which Eddie swallows. Suddenly, he’s a brand new person who lacks any sort of moral compass, but is also a lot smarter.

While his friend gets murdered and other thugs wish to destroy Eddie, Eddie must use his new abilities and do something cool with them. Will he use his powers for good or evil? That’s what you must ask yourself as Eddie takes to the streets. Of course, Eddie may not be the only one with this new drug. The drug essentially wakes up your brain so that you are able to access all of it. It has some deadly side effects, but Eddie feels that it may be worth it.

Eddie is definitely not a great character as power corrupts and he was never known as a man of great virtue. He mainly uses his abilities for his own personal gain and he also makes a lot of sloppy mistakes. How can someone be so smart and yet, not be smart at the same time? Eddie is constantly slipping up and he also ends up forgetting that he’s a pretty good fighter while he has the pill. He definitely could have used the pills to be a much better fighter and protect the world, but he’s no hero. Of course, you probably already figured that since he did resort to using drugs.

Aside from Eddie, we’ve also got Carl. Carl was the best character in the film and he’s good at blackmail. This guy knew the score right from the get go and he seems to be a very intimidating person. He’s pretty smart and he’s always getting Eddie into a tight spot. He’s a fun character and you’ll want to stick around for the ending and see him at work.

Linda is one of Eddie’s friends and I can’t say that she was a great character either. She has her own fight scene which was epic, but she ended up being friends with the wrong guy. Eddie is a bad influence and he ended up dragging her down with him to the pit of shame. That same pit is where the rest of the characters reside. The villains are generic thugs and they shouldn’t be taken too seriously. They really only get to do a lot of damage because Eddie ends up making some bad choices.

The soundtrack is really good and it shows that there is no excuse for a live action film to not have one. The main theme was epic and in the first minutes of the film, we’ve already got a really good piece of music going. The scenery is pretty fun too as the camera goes very fast in first person mode.

There are some scenes that may be a little hard to believe as well. One of them would be when a guy (Armed with a knife) charges into the park and murders some people as he chases Linda. It’s a pretty park and there seemed to be a lot of guys around, so why did nobody notice what was happening? It was a bit of a stretch for me, but it could have been worse. I also didn’t buy the fact that Eddie had another drug in his box at one point in the film. You wouldn’t miss something that obvious, especially with super brain power. I could mention the fact that the villains break into a fortified house that’s barricaded by steel, but maybe that’s pushing it.

With such a plot, there are bound to be inconsistencies so it could definitely be worse. The ending was pretty great and Eddie finally did something that I had been waiting for during the film. It only makes sense that he could pull off such a feat, so it was a question of when. The ending may also be ambiguous depending on how you look at it, but I like to think that he’s on the level this time. At any rate, we can only hope that he’s telling it like it is.

One of the negatives of the film is the large amounts of romance. Once Eddie unlocks his powers through the drugs, he starts to act like James Bond. It’s regrettable that the protagonists of many films turn out to be very corrupt and despicable people when they obtain power, but that’s the sad truth of Holywood. The scenes are all very wince worthy and you’ll need to try and skip them or maybe just take the time to go to the kitchen and warm up some mac and cheese.

Overall, this was a decently good film. The film had some negatives, but most films tend to have those. The film also had some decently good positives so it’s got a foot in both worlds. The music and plot were good, but the characters and romance dragged it down. Aside from a few scenes, the violence isn’t very bad either, but those few scenes can make or break a film right? This can be a fun film to watch, but if you want a true film about a guy who’s very smart, check out Bleach Memories of Nobody

Overall 5/10

Disclaimer, this is a review of the edited version so that it does not receive an R rating. These thoughts are specifically from that version and the score will likely differ from uncut and cut versions.

It’s time for another horror film, but will it be scary? The truth always comes out to destroy the heroes of such films, but what if they challenge the problem with superior numbers? This is the question that you must ask yourself as the heroes take on their toughest challenge yet! Let’s see how good the film was.

The main character goes by the name of Julie and the film starts out with a party. Julie is having fun and all, with her friends Helen, Barry, and Ray. After some sad scenes that you’ll want to block from your mind, they go into a car and run someone over. They quickly realize that they are immoral people by heart and dump the guy into the ocean. He struggles, but they overpower him with sheer force. At least he’s dead….nobody will ever know what they did! 1 year later, Julie gets a note that heavily implies that their secret it out. Someone is out to murder them all and Julie may be their only hope at this point! Can she really overpower the villain?

Well, the film plays out as more slasher films do. The cast is slowly whittled down as the villain makes short work of them. Physically, he seems to be superior to the main cast and Barry may be the only one who could possibly match him in that regard. (Though it’s unlikely) Unfortunately, there are a lot of moments that are just completely unbelievable and don’t make sense. I’ll only mention a few scenes since there are far too many of them.

1. The villain turns off the lights and the music when one of the characters is scared on the ground floor. Then he jumps out at her from under a plastic as if he were a mannequin. That’s a very (cheap) interesting way to scare the heroes and destroy their morale before destroying their lives, but it didn’t work. How could he turn off the lights and the music if he was already under the plastic? How did he go back downstairs and get into the plastic after murdering another character in such a short amount of time? Why did this film not even try to address these plot holes!?

2. At one point, one of the main characters is running through a dark alley. She pauses for a couple of minutes to stare at the surroundings and give the villain time to pick a place to hide and ambush her. She sees a parade and (slowly) jogs towards them. She sees a suspicious tower of tires, but it won’t deter her. She keeps on going, but the villain jumps out from….THE TIRES!!!!!! I’m sure that was surprising (To nobody) and it was scary for her, but there is another problem. How could the marchers not see this happening? She was extremely close to them and they couldn’t have been more than a few feet apart. Maybe they couldn’t hear her, but with peripheral vision, you would totally see what was happening.

3. The final one that I will point out involves Barry. Barry is on the second floor during a beauty pageant and he’s by himself. (Of course) The main villain appears and quickly gets him in a choke hold. The girl on stage yells for everyone to look up and help Barry as she points to him, but the crowd quickly surrounds her and basically yell a lot so that nobody can hear her. The policeman goes with her to find out what happened, but he took his time and didn’t notice the blood that was around. (The police man doesn’t look good during his “fight” with the villain either) The town must be really slow on the draw since they didn’t look up and see what was happening. Even without looking up, you would be able to see a little of the action, so they must have been legally blind at this point. If not, then this is another plot hole.

There are many more moments like that, but let’s not dwell on them anymore. Let’s go on to the next negative point which is the animal death. Yep, we’ve got the cliched scene where an animal dies and we see someone cutting up another animal. We also see remains of other animals and you have to wonder why the scene was included. Probably just for grittiness, which makes it even worse. This film also had more romance than you’d want in a film and there are several scenes where you’ll just want to skip to the next scene. There are two beauty pageants that are basically filler, but they’re not extremely awful.

None of the four main characters are likable. Julie gets into a romance that goes nowhere and then she lets her friends get away with murder. At least she had some doubts about it, which makes her slightly better than Barry and friends. Barry is the stereotypical drunk who’s mean to everyone and he goes down pretty easily. Helen is also not a good character as she panics a lot and Ray spent half of the film getting knocked out or punched in the face. The police weren’t very helpful and not even the Sheriff could do his job correctly. How about the main character? He’s basically a generic mass murderer who wants to destroy everyone and mess with their minds in the process. There’s literally nothing to like about him and he’s just a villain. That basically wraps it up for him.

All in all, this film is not a horror movie that I’d recommend. The music at the beginning was actually a good way of foreshadowing since it started out good and then the lyrics came in. The characters are all pretty awful and they’re pretty slow on the uptake. The film had too much romance and the animal deaths were overkill. The violence and deaths may not be as graphic as Alien, but you will still want to have your kids skip this film for now. The only place where I will give props to the film is the very ending…you just need to ignore the dozens of plot hax that this scene brings along with it. Instead of watching it, bring your kids with you as you watch Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods. Now that’s a film will really shake you to the core!

Overall 2/10

Dark Waters is a horror film that features water in a scary way. The title may have tipped you off to that part, but I hope that you’re not afraid of the substance. This film isn’t incredibly long and it’s not immensely popular, but those things don’t matter that much when you’re watching the film. The important part is whether the film was good and scary, or bad and funny!

Well, the film is about Dahlia and her daughter as they move to a new place. This home looks very shady and broken down, not to mention that the girl has a bad feeling about the place. She changes her mind after seeing the backpack. (Or getting possessed) The main character decides to move in, but her ex husband says that he’s going to sue her. He has moved to another place as well and he wants their daughter to be closer to his place. The main character plays it cool and gets her lawyer at the ready. Legal battles will become the least of her worries as the house proves to be a challenge. The residents of the floor above her are gone, but she hears strange sounds during the night.

There is always water that keeps on falling through the ceiling and damaging her apartment and the water has a tendency to come out dirty. Things get even worse when her daughter thinks up an imaginary friend, but she claims that the person is not imaginary! Is their really a ghost haunting them? Why would someone want to haunt the main character!? It looks like we’re going to find out!

Dahlia is a decent main character although she makes a lot of classic horror movie mistakes. She doesn’t really take most of the obstacles in stride, but she’s made to be an average person, not an ultimately brave hero I guess…she doesn’t look that great in the ending. She basically threw in the towel and stopped fighting for what was right. The main character definitely annoyed me in that scene and was a pretty sad way to end the film.

Her ex husband is pretty bad. We never get any proof that he’s an awful person, but there are hints through the film. The main character certainly believes this and she wouldn’t be mistaken…right? We’ve also got the lawyer who started out as a sub par character, but he ended up being a pretty good character. He’s actually pretty skilled at his trade and he doesn’t back down from a fight. He may not be a hero, but he’s as heroic as they get in this film!

The other characters are pretty unmemorable. We have the daughter who tries to fight the supernatural forces that are upon her, but it is just too much. We have the main villain, who is a casual reality warper. Unfortunately, the humans are unable to cope with this level of ability. The main villain isn’t very likable and the ending doesn’t exactly make her look good. The owner of the building is pretty tricky and he gets people to sign the lease before they can really stop themselves. I wouldn’t underestimate such a crafty fellow. He was a pretty good character, but his door man wasn’t as good. A pretty suspicious character and he makes things hard on the heroes. There are other characters up and about, but we don’t need to worry about them.

Overall, this was a decent film if you ignore the whole horror element. It barely felt like a horror film at several points and the threats were not scary. The main character had a tragic life, but it didn’t really have anything to do with the film. The horror moments couldn’t really hold up against other horror films like the Grudge or the Ring. This film definitely has a lot of drama to it and fans of the genre should like it. There isn’t really any excessive violence or scary moments that will make you want to turn away. That being said, the ending is pretty awful and does help to crush the film. If you want a legendary horror, I’d turn to Godzilla the GMK movie.

Overall 4/10

Disclaimer, this is a review of the edited version so that it does not receive an R rating. These thoughts are specifically from that version and the score will likely differ from uncut and cut versions.

You may remember my review of the first Alien film as it was only a few months ago. It was a pretty decent Alien film and while it may not be as amazing as all of the hype, it was solid. If not for the small aliens that blow people up, the score may have been even higher. Can the sequel surpass the original classic? Let’s find out!

First, I will say that the premise is excellent! “This time it’s War” is a great tagline and it does get you hyped for the film. Unfortunately, it may raise the bar a little too high for the actual film to reach. The main problem is that the film doesn’t feel like it is a war. The scientists are skeptical so once again, an unprepared team is sent out to fight the creatures. Aw man……

The plot involves Ripley as she makes it back home in one piece. Her cat appears briefly, but that’s a good thing. This film manages to avoid one crucial fact…no animals are destroyed! Awesome eh? Ripley tries to warn everyone that there are Aliens out there, but “they” (The big shots) don’t believe her. After all, a lot of families are living on the planet, so it sounds like it’s all good right? (Where were they in the first film? Well, the main character was asleep for 50 years, but even so…)

Unfortunately, they lose contact with the planet. This could only mean one thing….obviously there are no such things as aliens, so the government seems to think that it’s another country. At least, that’s the vibe that I was picking up. They convince Ripley to go along with a group of….Trained Professionals! Obviously, they’re prepared to deal with what comes up. Unfortunately, they joke around a lot and are very unlikable. “Game Over Man!” is probably the best line that’s uttered in the film.

There are quite a lot of fighters at first, but after the first major Alien scene, let’s just say that the cast is whittled down to size. Will the survivors make it off the planet or will they be the next skeletons on the planet? Ripley doesn’t plan on dying here, but things sometimes take a turn for the worst. Ripley is all right at best, but I’m not a fan of the character. She’s better than the kid, but that’s not saying much. It’s really hard to root for the gunmen and even the android isn’t a great character. The Aliens are definitely a lot more charismatic.

Were the Aliens exceptionally cool? Well, there were a lot of them, but it’s definitely quantity over quality. The Aliens go down pretty quickly when met with gunfire and dozens of them lose to one warrior. The Alien Queen is definitely a smart opponent, but I wouldn’t say that she’s much stronger than the average alien. You seemed to be having some trouble with an outdated mecha that was lying around. Still, the Aliens do have a pretty neat design for the most part.

All in all, this film was much better than the first film. One would expect a higher rating if that’s the case right? Well, sometimes things aren’t so straightforward and the ratings can get sketchy. Still, for the record, Aliens is better than Alien. The film still has it’s share of negatives including some language scattered about, the Aliens who blow people up, (I’ll never like those guys. It’s just too…graphically intense!) and a pretty Awful character roster. With all of the gross out moments that happen in the film, you’ll also want to make sure that you haven’t had lunch in a while. There’s also not much of a soundtrack to get behind, but that’s the case with most films. There were significant moments where a lot of plot hax was used, but it’s to be expected in the long run. If you liked the first film, then you’ll probably like this one. I lightly recommend it to those who want a nice adventure with aliens and “Hardcore” characters, but I wouldn’t recommend it to those who don’t like violence. If you want a true alien adventure, check out Superman vs Doomsday!

Overall 4/10

Tremors is a film that you may have heard of, but perhaps it has not been mentioned in your past. There are giant monsters creatures who are out to wreck havok and it’s up to the two main characters to stop him. Will they be able to save the world, or at least their home!? It’s crunch time!

Well, the plot involves Val and Earl as they go around helping people with small jobs. It may not be the greatest work out there, but it’s fulfilling and they’re making a difference. They decide to leave town and head for greater things, but they find a dead person. After that, people start disappearing and the monsters start to show themselves. It may be too late to leave the city and they may not even get to leave this place with their lives!

One thing that I have to note about this film is the fact that I forgot the names of the two main characters almost immediately. I can only vaguely recall them mentioning the names during the film and the characters are more memorable than their names. This may not be very surprising, but it’s still a bad sign when you can’t remember the names of the characters. I wouldn’t say that any of them were likable characters either.

They spend most of the film arguing and they tend to panic when the going gets tough. I doubt that either of them would last a few seconds against a true warrior, which brings me to Burt. Burt was definitely a solid character and I dare say that he was the best one in the film. He had a lot of ammunition and along with Heather, they managed to fend off the worms. Burt may have thrown in the towel a few times, but without his grenades and raw power, the main characters would have died out a long time ago.

There are other characters, but they don’t really do anything important. There’s a character who’s monitoring the tremors in the area and she ends up helping out against the worms. We’ve also got a teenager who keeps on messing with the main characters. There’s a pretty hardcore shop owner who’s ready to name the giant monsters as well.

Let’s talk about the giant monsters, aka, the Graboids. The Graboids may have sounded really hardcore and epic in the trailer, but there are not that cool in the film. The Graboids are very weak and a construction worker injures one by accident. The Graboid can move at a decent pace when they are underground, but they still end up getting outrun by the humans. Bullets do damage the creature if you aim at the correct spot and they will go down. Since the monster wasn’t that great, that pretty much ended the discussion on whether the film would be really cool or not.

There is also a scene where a lot of animals die and it didn’t really have any point. Once again, animals died because all horror movies need those scenes apparently. This film counts as a horror film in my book because it had giant monsters. The film does contain some pretty graphic violence and I wouldn’t recommend it to kids or the faint of heart and especially not to animal fans

Would I recommend this film to the rest of the world? I don’t think so. When a film lacks a good character cast, any noticeable soundtrack, a good monster, and has animals die for no reason; what did you think would happen? If you want to watch a true Kaiju film, check out Godzilla Final Wars! Otherwise, I’d advise you to just go buy some popcorn at the theater, but don’t watch the actual film. There isn’t really any good reason to watch this one and while it was not awful, I doubt I’ll be seeing it again.

Overall 2/10

Wait Until Dark is a pretty inspiring title. You will probably think that it’s a horror film upon first glance right? Well, this one is more of a thriller than a horror, but I suppose that you can think of it either way. This film came out decades ago, but I saw the technicolor version so it’s in color. Can this film hold up to today’s standards?

The film starts out with a guy fixing a doll and then giving it to a woman. She heads for a plane and upon getting off, she gives it to Sam. Sam takes it home and promptly loses the doll. The woman who had given him the doll is murdered and then two villains break into the Sam’s home. Another villain follows them and they make a partnership. Mike and Carlino are the two villains who team up with Harry Roat.

The plan is to find the doll because it’s got to still be in the house right? That’s what they figure, but things may get difficult. They trick Sam into leaving for the day, but they’ve still got to deal with his blind wife, Susy, and Gloria, the little kid. Instead of bumping them off the old fashioned way, they decide to take advantage of Susy’s blindness and trick her into giving them the doll. They’ve just overlooked one thing…she doesn’t know where the doll is! Will Suzy find the doll and stop the fiends?

Well, Susy is the main character and since Sam isn’t one of the greatest characters out there, she’s really on her own. Gloria is around for moral support, but to quote a smart man in Megaman Axess, “What can you kids do?” I believe that the man put it in the best phrasing of words possible. He may have been proven wrong seconds later, but at least he talked a good game. Susy is a decent character I suppose, but the terror of the moment does pretty much consume her several times.

Gloria is a pretty annoying character and her first moment brought her down the ranks. She just couldn’t recover from such a sad display of emotion and lack of control. Sam…..he’s not a good character either. I had my suspicions during his first few appearances, but they were confirmed towards the climax. After realizing that his wide is in trouble, he tries to slow down the police from entering the building. “Take it easy!” he says to them, which was definitely odd considering the circumstances. Sam never even got to take on the villains and wasn’t impressive.

Mike was easily the best character from the three villains. He was pretty smart and he was able to take on Harry Roat during the beginning. He definitely felt like he was the most professional and he was pretty epic towards the ending. He and Carlino thought of a pretty Brilliant plan to take someone out, but we never learn exactly how they were going to do it. Carlino definitely wasn’t as good, but he’s all right I suppose. He’s a little overweight, not very smart, and comic relief, so there’s definitely a few stereotypes in there. We’ve also got Harry Roat, who was a decent villain. The only problem is that he loses sight of his objectives and he takes too long to finish the job. He does seem to be pretty smart, but I don’t think that he could take on Mike in a fair fight. His weapon of choice was interesting…but wouldn’t have made it against stronger opponents.

Overall, this is a decent thriller film. It’s not my favorite since it doesn’t hold up quite as well as some of the other old movies. I believe that Susy had a hard time carrying her own film and that probably hurt the overall strength of the film a little. When a person is blind, there will always be a lot of belief suspension needed to believe that she can actually fight/outsmart the villains. Mike was the most entertaining character and especially during the beginning piece, but the others were only okay. So, I’m sure that you’ll like it if you want to see a retro thriller film, but if you want to feel true terror…..Check out Final Fantasy The Spirits Within!

Overall 4/10

Paranormal Activity is a pretty famous horror film and it’s almost considered a household name at this point. I believe that I can safely say that every big horror fan has seen it at this point. I’d definitely heard of the film, but I’d never gotten around to seeing it before. Could it match up against the Ring or the Grudge? Let’s find out!

Disclaimer time! This review is of the edited version that you may come across on TV, which edits out the language and tones the film down to an acceptable rating. Naturally if I were reviewing the uncut version, the score would be lower. Either way that’s an impossibility since I don’t watch R rated films. Now back to the review!

Paranormal Activity uses a shaky camera which is always a bad sign when you really think about it. Maybe it adds a sense of horror to the movie, but I think that you don’t need to have a camera to generate that effect. I’ve never been a fan of the whole shaky camera technique and it may have wrecked Cloverfield. That being said, it worked well for the scenes where it wasn’t moving, but was left on the tripod. Night vision always looks pretty intense in movies.

It’s still intense how they were able to do the whole film inside the house and in the backyard. That could have gotten old if a lot of films had done this already, but it’s so unique that it was fun. I didn’t really find myself missing the outside world at any point. Considering the low budget that the film had, this one definitely did well. This is why we really don’t need to have huge budgets to make a decent film.

The main characters are Katie and Micah. Katie is worried because a demon has been following her around for a long time. We don’t know how long the demon has been following her, (Not at the beginning anyway) but we can safely say that it has been for a while. She decided not to tell Micah for a while, but now he knows…and he’s ready! Micah thinks he’s ready at any rate, but how can you beat an invisible, intangible demon?

Well, this demon isn’t very fast, which definitely helps Micah’s case, but it’s also supernaturally strong. Micah uses powder to follow the demon’s movements, but Katie believes that he’s letting them follow his tracks. The demon even leaves clues for them to follow which is pretty thoughtful of him.

Katie calls in a Professor/Doctor type of fellow, but he’s no help. He senses how disturbing the whole affair is and quickly dashes out. We don’t see him again and it’s safe to say that he may have survived this ordeal. Sometimes the tactical retreat option actually works, but I can’t say that it made me like the character.

Katie and Micah panic a lot, but I guess it’s to be expected. I can’t say that I liked either character, but when do I like the main characters of a horror film? Micah was able to overpower the demon at one point, but did the demon just let him think that? Also, you do have to ask several questions. “Is Katie the demon?” It may not seem like it at first, but she does have moments where she will go in a trance. Perhaps she just gets possessed once in a while or maybe she’s finally cracked. During the ending where she yells and the Micah goes to help, I think that the demon may have just been sending him into a trap. Katie did mention that the demon may have left a trap for them earlier in the film. The demon may be more cunning than we realize.

The ending is pretty epic and while Micah doesn’t look so good, it’s to be expected. I like to think that he put up a decent fight, but it’s possible that he went down without dealing much damage. Since we are stuck with the camera, we have to miss out on the intense fight. The ending definitely shows that the demon is in control, but we’ve still got to consider the Katie is a demon theory. It would explain how her picture got into the attic, maybe she put it there? Either way, if she isn’t the demon, it doesn’t matter. The demon can possess people whenever it wants and there’s no defense against the supernatural powers that it possesses. If only the military had gotten involved!

So, in the end this was a pretty good horror film. I’d say that it wasn’t nearly as creepy or scary as The Grudge or The Ring, but it would be hard to top those 2 in that area. No animals get taken down for the count which is shocking, but definitely epic. I can see why many people like the series and I recommend it for horror fans. That being said, you should definitely watch out for the shaky camera!

Overall 5/10

Everyone loves a great mystery and they can definitely be enjoyable to watch. It’s especially fun when you’re able to figure out who the culprit was before the main characters, but that’s easier said than done! Also, I’m usually so into the movie that I don’t even take a guess because I’m just focused on the action. This one gives the mystery angle a new spin, but does it work?

The film starts off with several of the world’s greatest detectives as they are invited to a mansion. A murder will be taking place and they must solve the mystery of who committed such a vicious act! The main problem is that the murder hasn’t happened yet, so how can they solve it? The detectives are all professionals, but some of them definitely seem smarter than the others. I will go more into depth with the characters later on in the review, since they essentially make or break the film for you.

The butler is blind, but does that make him a suspect or should we cross him off the list? Either way, he definitely knows his way around the house and he performs admirably. A cook also comes in later, but she is deaf and mute. She also cannot read so this makes things pretty intriguing. Will they be able to work together, or will the challenge be too much for them?

Their host is Lionel Twain and he has come with a very bold challenge to the detectives. He will create a murder that they won’t be able to solve and he will truly be the smartest man in the world. If they do solve the case, they’ll get a nice sum of money to add to their bank account. The detectives feel that they have the upper hand since Twain is obviously the murderer….right!? Once the clock strikes midnight, then the victim appears and the body may shock you!

The detectives scramble to find out what happened and quickly try to solve the case. It’s certainly a tough one and now the detectives must each solve their own dire situation and hopefully escape with their lives, while solving the case in the process. Things prove to be dire and time is definitely not on their side!

Let’s talk about the first group of detectives, Sidney Wang and Willie. Willie isn’t really a detective and he’s actually here to carry Wang’s bags and do the daily errands. Sidney is pretty smart and he likes to (Not so) subtly insult Willie whenever he gets a chance. He’s definitely one of the more prepared detectives in the film and certainly one of the best characters. He knows a lot so the other detectives better watch out for what he may say. He prefers not to use pronouns, but then again…who does!?

Next up we have Dick Charleston and Doris Charleston. They definitely act the most like Sherlock Holmes and they definitely seem to be smart. Unlike Wang and Willie Dick and Doris are both pretty smart and help in key parts of the case. Dick tries to keep Doris out of the conversations when things get “Official” but she still ends up making statements when she wants too. She has learned with the best after all. They also had a dog who was pretty hardcore for the entirety of the film. The villains couldn’t lay a hand on him!

We’ve also got Milo and Marcel. They were some of the weaker characters and definitely did not seem to be quite as smart as the first few detectives. Milo really wanted his snacks, but there weren’t many to be found since they were cheated out of their soup. Marcel is pretty strong, but not quite as quick as the other guys. The statue actually hit him, which was definitely sad for the poor guy. He did have his big moment towards the end.

Jessica Marbles and Miss Withers also come into the picture, but their roles are smaller than the others. They entered the film later than the others and I never found them to be very impressive. Miss Withers couldn’t really move and is very old. Jessica Marbles may have solved some mysteries in her day, but they don’t seem to have been as complicated as the ones that Mr. Charleston probably faced.

Finally, we have Sam Diamond and Tess Skeffington. Sam is pretty tough and he definitely seems to have a meaner edge to him than the other detectives. He’s not here to shoot the breeze or have a merry time. To him, the case is serious business and he came prepared. While he brought a gun, the other detectives are basically defenseless. Tess is pretty fit and was able to walk a long distance more than once to get supplies. She may not be the detective, but she does have a “twist” that helps them wrap things up.

Speaking of the “twists”, that was one of the best parts of the film. You probably remember the old “Luke, I’m YOUR FATHER!!!!!” saying from Star Wars right? This is similar, but just about all of the characters have a plot twist at around the same time. It’s definitely intense and not something that you will be forgetting anytime soon. The ending develops in a similar fashion and it’s not something that you will want to forget. It’s one of the best endings that I’ve seen in a long time! Maybe top 3 mystery movie endings.

I highly recommend checking this film out. It’s pretty funny and the detectives are mostly all solid characters. I wouldn’t say that any of the characters were bad characters and that is definitely saying something! The plot twists that keep coming will have you stay entertained for the entirety of the film and the traps at the end are epic. There’s even a bomb in the film! So, if you thought that Clue was good, then you’ll love this film. It’s a must watch for all mystery fans!

Overall 8/10

Leave Her To Heaven is a film that you may or may not have heard of. It’s essentially your typical romance film (Uh oh) that also features murder and danger! Adding those elements should definitely help the film, but how good can a romance get anyway right? (Unless you count Tsubasa) It’s time that we find out!

A guy by the name of Richard meets a girl on the train. After they take turns glaring staring at each other, they become friends. Her name is Ellen and if the long staring scene didn’t warrant any alarms in your head, then the plot twist will feel pretty sudden! Ellen and Richard head to the family’s house where Richard will be working on his book. According to Ellen, he’s not a good author, but she miraculously changes her mind later on! After she pressures Richard into getting proposed to her, they have happy days!…for a while.

Soon, Ellen starts to get jealous of everyone else and wants to be alone with Richard. Richard isn’t very sympathetic and he invites everyone that he can. Richard gets Ellen’s whole family to come over and we can’t forget about the Farmer. Ellen acts as mean to them as she can, but they stay strong for the most part. Later on, Richard’s friend dies…was it a murder or an accident? Ellen’s supposed to be a good swimmer, but she claimed that she didn’t notice in time.

Even further into the film, there is more disaster and fatalities. In theory, this should help the film to stay energetic and epic, but it doesn’t work. The deaths are tragic, but Richard is not a great main character. This is something that happens a lot in romance films; I couldn’t find myself liking any of the characters. They were all mean, jealous, or just not cool enough for me.

The main negative of the film is the fact that there is a lot of romance. Even if this is a romance film, they should try to avoid it. It tends to bog the film down with really drawn out scenes and unnecessary dialogue. It definitely took up a large chunk of the film and wasn’t needed to help the plot progress. I’m sure that they could have found other ways to continue the story.

Another thing is that the deaths are tragic, but nothing is really done about them. People dying in a random monster film or action anime is okay because they can fight back or at least they tried. There’s just not as much point when it’s from drowning or helplessness. We know that the character is a villain and that’s pretty much all that we need to know. Also, the main character went down fast when he expressed interest in destroying animals. Those were all the signs that I needed to write off the main cast.

So, I wouldn’t recommend this film to the average moviegoer. If you want a true story about a daring young man who must face all kinds of dangers to help out his friends, then watch DBZ. This film had one good scene in it, but that’s hardly enough to save it. (The Court Scene was pretty epic for the most part) If you really want to watch a romance film, then I recommend playing a video game to take your mind off of it.

Overall 2/10