Devil. Trust No One. ***

Halloween is just around the corner; so buckle up and prepare for a slew of horror reviews in the next few weeks on this website. If someone is looking for a movie to get them in the horror mood, Devil, is a great start. M. Night Shyamalan helped write and produce this film. People cringe at the sound of his name but I am actually a big fan of his work, most of his work. The two starter directors have a great deal of fun with this premise and these characters and the audience can definitely tell. Also Tak Fujimoto is behind the cinematography so this feels like one of Shyamalan's earlier works. One thing that he is good at, and what I truly appreciate about his films, the characters are front and center of the story. It's all about dialogue and what the characters are talking about and how they get to where they have to go, rather than special effects being events merely happening to them. This creates a connection from audience to character, thus, creating a bridge to the story. This story is well played, could be better written, but the actors all do a fine job with the material they are given.

The cast ensemble has a few new comers and some that can be recognized but the most notable cast member is Jenny O'Hara playing the old woman. She's a seasoned actress and has played some memorable supporting characters in her time, and she's at it yet again in this film. The premise of this movie is fantastic, it focuses on the devil himself and pulls a scripture that is sure to creep people out. Each character has a believability and uniqueness to them. The greatest part of the movie is the suspense and mystery. The directors and cinematographer use the atmosphere and mood so brilliantly, when events actually pan out and start to take place it's eerie and scary. Playing on the fear and paranoia of the claustrophobic elevator is also what this film continually does. Let me just say, whenever those elevator lights shut off, you will be holding the person next to you.

This movie didn't make the biggest splash in the pond. It set's out what it needs to do to be a creepy little monster movie. Opening up the dialogue and expanding on the depth of each character could've made this movie deeper and different. Instead, we learn how this characters act and relate through a cop telling us about them, almost like an informant. What makes this movie really special though is the plot of the main cop character played by Chris Messina. The whole message of the movie is important and wholesome. It believes in humanity and shows that in the face of the darkest evil from hell, humanity can really be good and faithful to God. This spiritual undertone is played throughout the whole movie with the faith believing security God who prays and knows what evil is lurking in that elevator. This main focus really saves the movie, in my opinion it really surprised me with how it played out, it gives it that little bit of depth that should've been in there sooner than the end.

The producers and scribes were trying to do a lot of things right in this film and some ideas missed the mark. But what we get is actually what we should expect from a movie like this. It's a dark claustrophobic thrill ride and every time those lights flicker, we are found praying to God to help us through to the other side.

Transformers: The Dark of the Moon: Is it over yet? *

Movie franchises come and go but when a franchise begins it sometimes ends up being a headache. The first Transformers movie was awesome, big, loud and full of action. This was something that was special at the time but the welcome is definitely warn out. The second Transformer's movie was just offensive and stupid and now here is the final movie in Bay's self proclaimed masterpiece collection.

The first half of the movie isn't all that bad. Sure there is an excessive amount of screaming, unnecessary special effects, and girls in their underwear but the way it is played out by the actors is actually really fun. It's almost like a ridiculous B movie and the cast includes legends like, John Malkovich, Francis Mcdormand and that funny asian guy from the hangover. I don't know how they got these actors to join in but it's a whole lot of fun. Malkovich plays a self centered boss of Labeouf's character, sure he's a static character but he's so funny. It's really too bad that Michael Bay doesn't use these characters and actors to his advantage, it would have made the movie way more interesting to watch. This movie is completely shallow, the story is just plain silly and overdone, and none of the characters are fun to be with, actually everyone is very annoying in this film. Labeouf has also proved why he can't get another acting job because all he can do is yell and scream and blabber on about nothing for 157 minutes. The movie is also overlong, especially when absolutely nothing happens for the last hour of the film. Once that B movie jive ends it all turns to what Bay loves best, complete action, and the effects aren't even that great.

The last hour of the film is a complete waste of time. Sure the first movie had a great combination of government conspiracy, aliens, awesome fights between the autobots and deceptions, but I really didn't care a whole lot of what was happening. Here, Bay, tries make something a little deeper in the film but it doesn't work because he pays more attention to his little boy instincts rather than a seasoned director's instincts. He tries to string together action sequence after action sequence instead of going for plot or character development. The last hour of the film is just straight action, and that is no exaggeration. The camera is so close to it too that we can't even see what's happening with the action. Everything is so poorly shot that it's headache and nausea inducing. Loud machine noises are ringing our ears and buildings are breaking and falling over. This creates a little boy mentality to the film, and it's actually very sad when a film maker picks senseless action over what matters most in a film. Bay wanted to create a masterpiece and what he created was a shallow action film with characters that are so poorly executed and annoying we wish we never knew them. I don't know how some of these actors agreed to do this farce but I'm just glad the Transformers trilogy is finally over, I just hope Bay stays away from the camera for a while because my head hurts just thinking about his next idea.

Don't be Afraid of the Dark: A Pure Creepfest. ***

Halloween is just around the corner, which means that horror movies come out at full swing. Guillmero Del Toro wrote and produced this remake horror film and when I saw those credentials of who was behind it, I was excited. This major movie heavyweight has been behind Blade II, Hellboy and the classic Pan's Labyrinth. The original show, Don't be Afraid of the Dark, was a T.V. miniseries about a family that gets terrorized by these monsters in an old estate house they purchased. Del Toro takes this idea and put's his spin on things which is never a bad thing. Troy Nixey uses the strangest camera movements as well to create an atmosphere and a menacing character in his monsters. This isn't a typical monster movie, it bends and breaks the rules of tradition, and it also expands on the concept of these creepy monsters killing people in the dark.

First of all, the acting in this movie is great, Katie Holmes is bearable, Guy Pearce plays his role as best as he could, the real showcase though, is Bailee Madison. She's been a small supporting character in a few movies leading up to this but here she is front and center. Honestly, this movie works so well because of her. She conveys who anger and frustration so well, she also has an innocence that is heavily influential in this pic. There are a couple of things this movie does that I did not like. We see the monsters to early, so that mystery and creepiness goes away or is a little stilted in a couple of parts that could've been so much creepier. Also the ending of the movie is so stupid. I'm not talking about the last half hour, I'm talking about the last twenty seconds before the credits roll, I rolled my eyes at the concept. Now this movie does a whole lot of things that are edgy, new and well executed.

Del Toro and Nixey create a mythology behind these monsters, this is something Del Toro always does. They aren't some random creepy monsters killing people in the dark, no, they are something more. There's a rhyme and a reason behind what is transpiring maybe even a lesson that we can learn. This brings a whole new dimension to the genre that we've never seen before. Sometimes we actually understand why the monsters are the way they are, and that also conveys suspense and creepiness. It's a brilliant way of telling a story and honestly it's something hollywood has stopped doing in a lot of ways. Now this is no Pan's Labyrinth but it almost feels like a little sister of that story. The story telling here is top notch and Nixey creates some of the creepiest moments we've experienced all year at the movies. Let's just say you won't look at you're bed or bathtub the same way again. He takes our nerves and jangles them in different ways, so every creep factor is new and exciting. I also loved seeing the world from the monster's point of view, the skittering cameras at feet level that roamed all over the house actually worked very well. If you want something different this halloween with probably one of the best, and cutest child actors around right now, and some of the creepiest suspense scenes this is the movie to watch. Just leave right before the end or take it with a little grain of salt, it doesn't make sense.