Halloween Movie Night #28 - Saw 6

Don't read this unless you've seen the first 5 Saw movies.

This is another one of my favorites in the Saw series. First of all, the story is well crafted and once again, as in Saw 3, the twist is cleverly hidden through misdirection. Second, who hasn't wanted to put an insurance adjuster through a horrific game like this?! Does this make me a bad person? Probably.

In Saw 6, an insurance adjuster who has denied the claims of dying people is put to the test in a grisly game - one of the final ones designed by the original Jigsaw. Hoffman is still trying to carry on John Kramer's legacy, but as with his copycat trap where he killed his sisters murderer, he is sloppy. He just doesn't have John Kramer's brilliance - which might speak about Kramer's intelligence given that he picked him (and Amanda). I guess even genuises make mistakes.

William Easton is an executive at an insurance company and he proudly tells John Kramer in flashbacks that he created a formula now used to deny or approve claims based on the candidates' probability for costing the company money. Liabilities are denied, of course.

"So basically," John sumarrizes, "You choose who lives or dies." Sound familiar?

William's test is less about him and more about people around him. As before with the father who's son was hit by a drunk driver, William must make choices with an eerie connection to his own proudly touted formula. People like his secretary, a young exec at the firm, the six people who pour through claims looking for errors, etc. Mean while, a mother and her son are in a cell watching, along with a reporter who has been covering (and some would suggest sensationalizing) John Kramer's legacy. How all of these people are connected isn't certain, except that they are all somehow related to William Easton.

Meanwhile, Mark Hoffman is starting to unravel. His sloppiness is beginning to get noticed by the FBI agents and it seems as though his framing of Peter Straum (the detective Hoffman killed at the end of 5) isn't working as planned.

We also find out more about John Kramer's story, especially through his wife. We find out what was in the box that John willed her after his death. We find out how much she actually knew about what John was doing. We even find out a little bit more about Amanda and what was in that letter she found shortly before dying in #3.

Yet, there is still so much left unanswered and I am excited to watch Saw 3D.

At the same time, I'm a little disappointed. 3D movies cost $5 more to see and since I've been reading that Saw 3D just isn't worth the extra money, I was planning to see it in traditional 2D, but there is only one theater showing it and it's too far to justify going by bus. I have been struggling with whether or not to see Saw 3D in theaters or just wait for it on DVD. I don't appreciate the producers of this movie forcing another $5 out of me for an already over-priced ticket.

Still, watching all the past movies this week, I am too excited about seeing the final chapter. I guess I have to make a choice, right? Live or die!..... er.....um.... rather.... See it in theaters or wait for Dvd...

Halloween Movie Night #27 - It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

It's a Halloween classic! What more can be said?

...I got a rock!

Halloween Movie Night #26 - Saw 5

Don't read this unless you have seen the first four.

Saw 5 is an entertaining movie, but it is all about Agent Hoffmann, the man who was revealed as Jigsaw's third helper at the end of the last chapter. Very little information is given about John Kramer, Amanda or Jill Tuck, Kramer's ex-wife. This chapter focused on Hoffmann's involvement in the entire story.

The backstory here reveals that Hoffmann was a partner with Jigsaw from almost the beginning. Seeking revenge for the death of his sister, Hoffmann sets up her killer and ex-boyfriend in a Jigsaw copycat device. Hoffmann's ability to make the crime scene look like a Jigsaw killing fools the police, but the sloppiness of the device pisses off Jigsaw and he confronts the vengeful brother. All of this is revealed through flashbacks while FBI agent Stramm unravels the truth about Hoffmann's involvement.

Meanwhile five victims are being tested in one of the last games of Jigsaw's design before his death. They are told at the beginning that they are all linked and discovering that link will help them win the game. This idea harkens back to the 2nd movie in more ways than one.

While I appreciated the explanations of how Hoffmann fit into the entire story, the lack of any more details about Jigsaw sends this chapter lower on the list for me. The twist is clever, but not nearly as much as the others were. We already know who the accomplice is, so there really isn't much of a surprise there, though there is a really clever twist, nonetheless.

Halloween Movie Night #25 - Saw 4

Don't read this unless you've seen the first three.

Jigsaw is dead. Amanda is dead. Yet, the story continues on. Someone is still out there trying to carry on Jigsaw's work. Apparently, Jigsaw knew that Amanda was going to blow it.

The great thing about this chapter in the Saw story is that we get a LOT more background on the villain himself. Before the cancer, before the suicide attempt, before his mission to teach people how to value their lives by putting them in horrific games, Jigsaw was in love. She was only hinted at in the last chapter, but now we found out more about John Kramer's wife. There is yet another layer of sadness in that story that drives John Kramer to don the mission of Jigsaw. We even witness his first ever game.

Saw 4 begins with an autopsy of John Kramer that is just as realistic and disturbing as the makeshift surgery in the last movie. When the check the contents of his stomach, a wax-covered mini tape is discovered and Detective Hoffmann is called in to hear it. Hoffmann is that character that was merely hinted at in the previous film.

The focus of this chapter, however, is on Lieutenant Rigg. He has been all the movies before, but in this one he takes center stage. Everyone around him is dying and he is now on a personal mission to hunt whomever is continuing the gruesome legacy that Jigsaw has left behind; even if it means ignoring protocol. The new Jigsaw sets up an elaborate game for Rigg, one that closely resembles the game from the last movie in that the player's choice effects the lives of other players.

Two new characters appear in this: two FBI agents are now on the case and they are convinced that Rigg is being recruited to continue Jigsaw's morbid legacy. All the evidence points to the fact that Rigg always seems to have a connection to the current list of victims. Is that a coincidence?

We also learn the fate of Detective Matthews who plays a more prominent role in this film again. He and Hoffman are set up in Rigg's game as well.

Though not one of my favorite chapters in the series, Saw 4 does offer some fascinating insight into John Kramer's past and introduces a more prominent figure for future chapters: his wife. It is never clear if she is an accomplice or merely an ex-wife as she claims. For me, this was the meatier part of the story.

Halloween Movie Night #24 - Saw 3

Don't read this if you haven't seen the first two Saw movies.

Story-wise, I think Saw 3 is one of my favorites of the Saw movies. It is a chilling character story and it answers a lot of questions all while raising even more. It also has one of the greatest misdirects ever in a movie!

At the end of Saw 2, we learned that Amanda is Jigsaw's protegee. She helped him orchestrate not only the game from that movie, but she also helped him set up the game from the first one. This chapter explains a lot more about her involvement in the Jigsaw story. He wants her to carry on his life's work.

But we quickly learn that John Kramer (aka Jigsaw) is always testing people, even those we think he may trust.

Saw 3 starts by giving us more information about Detective Matthews from Saw 2. At the end of that movie we saw him chained to a pipe in that fateful bathroom. This movie starts right where #2 left off. From there we are taken to another Jigsaw crime scene being investigated by detectives. Kerry, the confirmed expert on Jigsaw, is called to the scene and she worries that it's Matthews who is still missing. After finding out that the victim isn't him, she begins to realize that this "game" doesn't match Jigsaw's others. Thus far, his games have been escapable - Amanda is proof of that. But this latest test was performed behind a door that had been welded shut. There was no way for the victim to escape even if he had passed the test.

We also meet a new character: Mark Hoffmann. His screen time is short here, but his importance to the story will be huge later.

Later, Kerry is at home reviewing the tape from this latest victim when she herself is abducted and put in a trap. She is... well, I better not ruin what happens to her...

The story shifts to the focus characters of this movie. We a meet a doctor named Lynn and a man named Jeff. We learn that Jeff is still mourning the death of his son who was killed by a drunk driver. Jeff's test is one of forgiveness because he will soon face a witness to the accident who ran instead of testifying. He will face the judge who only sentenced the drunk driver to 6 months. Finally, he will face the drunk driver himself. In all the cases, those people's lives are in his hands. Can he find a way to forgive them and save them from the horrible deaths?

During all of this, the doctor is assigned with keeping a VERY ill John Kramer (Jigsaw) alive during Jeff's game. She is fitted with a gruesome collar that will blow her head off if Jigsaw's heart monitor flat lines. Using only crude tools, she has to perform an operation on his skull to relieve pressure on the brain. This is one of the most realistic surgeries ever performed on film, hands down.

Amanda is in this one, too. As the movie progresses, she gets more unhinged. Jealousy and anger still rule her life as though she has learned nothing from Jigsaw's tests. She clearly loves him, but these bitter emotions still get the best of her. She is there to keep Lynn in check, but at the same time, it's as though Amanda needs to be kept in check, too.

All of this builds to a pretty amazing conclusion and another twist... Well, more a series of twists. One of them relates to the misdirect that I mentioned earlier.

For all the horrific torturing these movies depict, there is quite a story being told. I'm probably a sick man for loving these movies as much as I do, but I swear it's all about the story! Much like a guy flipping through a porn magazine for the articles. I SWEAR!

Halloween Movie Night #23 - Jennifer's Body

Okay, I'm just going to say it: I really don't see the appeal of Megan Fox. I know straight guys really dig her. Apparently she's...I don't know...hot, or something? Whatever. I guess it's a straight guy thing and I just wouldn't understand. Although, I have found women attractive before (not that I wanted to have sex with them) and I just don't see the same qualities in Megan Fox that I have seen in those other women.

Maybe she's not my type?

I'm not that fond of her as an actress, either, though that's probably because the only other movies I've seen her in were the Transformers movies, the second of which was a waste of every living (and non-living) resource on this earth.

I hadn't heard anything good about Jennifer's Body. The reviews hadn't been favorable and a quick look at it on IMDB.com showed that it barely has a 50% rating. That's a failing grade in school and it's even worse for movies. When I saw that it was playing on HBO, though, I decided to have Tivo record it. So, I lose nearly two hours of my life. It's better than paying for a rental and THEN losing nearly two hours of my life.

I ended up liking the movie, though. First, it was written by Diablo Cody who also wrote Juno. People tend to either REALLY hate her stuff or REALLY like her stuff. I am definately the latter. This dark comedy shifts so quickly between witty dialogue and horiffic scenes that you almost catch yourself laughing at something truly gruesome. As with Juno, the success of Jennifer's Body lies with Cody's acerbic wit. For example, shortly after being run through the stomach by an oar, a character looks up and asks, "Got a tampon?"

Jennifer, (Megan Fox) is the victim of a sacrifice to Satan by a struggling indie-rock band. Unfortunately, they mistake her for a virgin and apparently when such a mistake is made, the result is demonic possession rather than hit records (though the band tends to do pretty well following the attempted sacrifice). Jennifer becomes a boy-devouring undead girl, preying on anything with two legs and a penis.

For me, the better performance in the movie came from Amanda Seyfried who sang her way through Mama Mia! but to me will always be the girl from Mean Girls who "like, must have ESPN or something!" One reviewer I read said she has eyes as big as an alien from Avatar and that is no joke! Frankly, I think she's much prettier (gorgeous, even) than Megan Fox. She's also a better actress.

Playing the boyfriend to Amanda's nerdy girl is Johnny Simmons who is pretty damn adorable. He was in the movie Hotel for Dogs and more recently in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Though none of the boys in the movie are given any real depth of character, Simmons' Chip at least has some. This movie, though, is all about the ladies. Thankfully, they at least gave this cutie some shirtless scenes.

Jennifer's Body was a pleasant surprise (and I gotta say that I never thought I'd say something like that).

Halloween Movie Night #22 - Saw 2

Part two of the horrific trilogy begins with a guy strapped into a venus-fly-trap-contraption set to snap shut on his head in 60 seconds unless he can dig the key out from behind his eye in time. This began the pattern of opening the movie with a death game, only this one was unrelated to the story.

Saw 2 tells the story of several people who wake up in a mysterious house that is leaking poisonous gas into their lungs. The antidotes are hidden around the house and each is hidden behind a different game - each one relating to a particular character's specific sin in life. One of the "players" in Jigsaw's twisted game is the son of a police detective who discovers his son's participation while trying to arrest Jigsaw. We discover that this is also a game for the detective - all he has to do is sit and talk to Jigsaw, while his son continues to breathe in the toxic poison. If he does this, Jigsaw promises that the boy will be found in a safe location, but can we really believe the promise of a serial killer?

Except Jigsaw isn't really a killer and one of his specific traits is that he doesn't lie.

Also interesting in this sequel is the promotion of a minor character from the first one - a drug addict named Amanda. She is the only known survivor of one of Jigsaw's games and she is back. Apparently she didn't learn her lesson the first time around, so she is one of the victims in the poison-infested house.

We don't really learn much more about Jigsaw in this movie, other than the fact that his cancer is really dragging him down. He's still as wry as ever, though. Still one has to wonder how exactly he's able to acomplish everything he does in his declining state...

One last joy for me about this film is the fact that Beverly Mitchell is in it. She played darling Lucy Camden on the hit TV show 7th Heaven and though there really isn't much for her to do in this - and she often just seems like Lucy Camden dying of poison - it was still cool to see her in this.

As with the previous installment, there is a twist that is pretty damn cool.