Movies of 2005 Review

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

• Horror and Courtroom Drama

Not your typical horror movie. Original. Yet ultimately boring and you may doze off as the movie plays out. Based on a true story according to credits. Unsatisfying ending. Jennifer Carpenter certainly does a top notch job acting as a girl possessed by a demon, contorting her body and giving a physical performance that is possibly the best ever for any demon possession movie. The rest of the time her character is boring, unattractive, and adds to the overall dull progression of the film.

Hard Candy

• Psychological Crime Drama

Little red riding hood and the big bad wolf, except this time the wolf is the hunted and red is not who she first appears to be. It's an indie film with a more than modest budget. When child molesters slip through the cracks, even in states that have Jessica's Law, we can all cheer on a young child teen who lays a clever trap for the unsuspecting pervert, and that's what this movie is about. Ellen Page plays the part perfectly; I couldn't imagine a better choice for the role. Sandra Oh was used in the movie as a semi-recognizable name, but her role is so absolutely pointless it is rather pathetic, mostly because she's pretty much a nobody anyway - its not like they got Sharon Stone or someone important to do the cameo like appearance. Some flaws that hurt the overall rating of this movie include: difficult to understand the character Jeff's final decision to hang himself because the director failed to explain certain things like, why Janelle is so important to him, and what connection Hayley has to him. Also, it is difficult to believe that he would trust Hayley to destroy the evidence, which she ends up not destroying. And, it just seems as though they were in close enough proximity, despite her having the gun, he could have quickly grabbed her and overpowered her, saving himself, and still be able to conceal the evidence. I enjoyed the movie although parts of it made me cringe. The director was able to accomplish this without gore and special effects. In fact, most of the movie takes place in an apartment. Also, there seemed to be some interesting mood related lighting and subtle color changes that worked well.

Hostel

• Horror

Not for the faint of heart. Stupid young backpackers through Europe looking for a good time and easy sex get duped into going to a 3rd world eastern-block country where they find a type of horror that is far more terrifying than any supernatural kind. The movie is truly scary because it makes you think it could actually happen, or be happening for real somewhere in a foreign country. With American's popularity around the world in rapid decline, travel abroad is more dangerous now then ever before. This movie plays on fears of this nature and adds a shock value that will knock you out of your seat. Gory and contains scenes that will make even the most desensitized person cringe. It hurt the movie towards the end when so conveniently all three perpetrators, the two girls and young guy that took money for the lives of the young travelers, just happened to be right on the intersection that our hero was racing though in his escape, so he could run over the three of them for instant gratification - that was weak - and the director should have been punched in the face for compromising an otherwise kick butt thriller.