"Memory" remains unmemorable

Have you ever watched a movie that had the potential to be great, but just couldn't achieve that greatness?

That’s what happened when I watched one of Netflix’s Top 10 recommendations for me.  This one was entitled “Memory.”

Reading the brief description of the plot might not have been enough alone for me to choose this particular movie.

“Dr. Taylor Biggs (Billy Zane) is haunted by a past that's not his own. A hallucinatory drug gives him the power to see visions of vicious crimes, visions made all that more disturbing when he discovers that the murderous memories may belong to the father he never knew (Dennis Hopper). Deirdre Blades co-stars as Biggs's mother, whose own failing memory makes her powerless to help him unravel his family history,” states Netflix.

If it weren't for Billy Zane and Dennis Hopper, this probably would have been lost to one of the thousands of choices I have out of the streaming titles.

The movie takes off rather slow, with awkwardly delivered dialogue.  I’m actually wondering if Billy Zane’s colleague is supporting a real “molest ache,” if it’s just part of the movie magic or lack there of.

In the next scene, the doctors are asked to do a consult while still in town for their conference.  The “scans” they’re asked to look at, literally have me laughing out loud as they appear to be something configured using the “Paint” program that I assume is equipped on almost every computer.

After viewing these “scans” it’s inferred that the patient is inflicted with what appears to be cancer, but only attacking the areas of memory.  As Zane’s character searches through the patient’s bag for clues, he rips his glove and becomes exposed to the substance we later find out is responsible for the strange memory mumbo-jumbo.  His hallucinations begin shortly after.

Throughout the film, I find the usual boring elements. Zane’s character sees visions of a serial killer that are “real,” but nobody believes him at first.  He meets a women and they eventually fall in love.  For the most part, even the twists are pretty predictable.

The movie really gets exciting after the second plot point, however when Zane discovers who the real killer is and is hot on their trail.  The last 20 minutes of the film almost make up for how slow the rest of the film is.

Overall, it’s a film that I don’t feel was entirely a waste of my time in comparison to other “gems” in Netflix’s instant selection.  I only wish more time and money could have been spent on the project and that the intensity of the last 20 minutes could be the same throughout the film’s entirety.

"Forget Me Not" already forgotten

The film starts off intriguing enough with a young girl running scared through a cemetery. When she frantically reaches a house, she's asked "What happened?' Between calming down and catching her breath she only replies, "I don't remember."

For the majority of the movie, I too could not remember something. Why I chose the movie and why I continued to watch it.

The incident that really moves the film forward happens after a party. The teens decide to go to the cemetery to play their favorite game, when a random girl shows up asking to play with them. She wins the game, but vanishes jumping off a cliff. Before she jumps, she asks the main character, Sandy, "Do you remember me? You will."

At first, the plot isn't entirely clear. It’s an apparent “teen” horror, although half of the teens appear to be late twenties, early thirties. It mainly focuses on three couples, although some are unfaithful so it was hard to determine who was essentially together. When the characters start mysteriously dying, I wasn't even sure why.

The movie closely follows the characters Sandy, her boyfriend Jake and her brother Eli. After two of their friends have mysteriously died and been forgotten, Sandy asks the group where TJ is. They all look at her as if she’s crazy and ask her who TJ is in return.

I couldn't tell if Sandy was crazy, the writing was bad, her friends were crazy, or what the hell was going on really. To add to the confusion, multiple aspects of the movie stop making sense.
While at a little convenient store, Jake asks Sandy if she's ready to go. She looks for the bike that they rode to the convenient store, when Jake tells her that he left it at home. The character who was TJ’s girlfriend earlier in the movie, comes out of the store not only single, but in jeans and a t-shirt. She was previously wearing a bikini top and a skirt.

I start to infer that whenever a character dies, Sandy is the only one to remember them. All of the others think she’s losing her mind and don't remember anything about the others. Apparently, playing the favorite game in the cemetery again set forth the game into real life.

Even if you can get past the confusing story line, the "ghosts" weren't scary. They appeared to be the characters dying off, turning into the "ghosts" like in the game. In some instances the movie could have scary moments. However, they were ruined. Before a guy gets into his car you can see the ghost get in. Now you're just waiting for the scare to happen.

The last 20 minutes or so, is when I started to actually like the movie. I know now the "rules" of the game and understand what is actually going on. It was a mediocre movie, with a first class ending.

Overall, I didn't love it and I didn't really hate it. It could have definitely been better.  “Forget me not?” I think I already forgot.

"Evil Dead" (Original film) Feb. 2012 Review

"The Evil Dead." It's appeared in my Netflix suggested a couple times, but it sounds like any other 80's horror.  I decided to take a chance and find out exactly what it had to offer. I was glad that I did.

What I didn't realize, that not only was this a true 80's classic, but it was a movie that set the bar and influenced many of the horror movies that I love today. The fact that I've called myself a true horror movie fan before watching this movie, makes me slightly ashamed.

In “The Evil Dead,“ it’s really a simple story line.  Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods. They discover “The Book of Evil,“ and unknowingly release evil upon the cabin the woods and themselves. The evil then taunts and eventually even takes over some of the teens.  It's tag-lined as "the ultimate experience in grueling horror."

It's definitely one of the movies you’re yelling at the screen,  wondering how the characters could be so naive and yet still trying to fix or alter their terrible decisions.

I wouldn't necessarily say that the possessed teens were scary as much as they were downright creepy.  They taunted the character of Ash, played by Bruce Campbell. Campbell himself, sometimes referred to as a “B-movie god,” gives a great performance in the film.
What I found quite comical was the way in which Campbell's character reacts. Up until the last twenty minutes or so, he carries this attitude as if somehow his friends and him will make it out alive.

The last fifteen minutes go into an overload, metropolis of gore.  An oozing, melting, gurgling and spraying mess is only putting it lightly.

The ending is sudden and yet simple.  It satisfies the common horror movie lover. For me, evil always triumphs or leaves room for a sequel, trilogy and so forth. If you can‘t get enough of this one, there‘s a sequel and a few spin-offs.  Plus, it’s even rumored to be in pre-production for a 2013 remake.  “The Evil Dead” is one that any true horror genre lover can't miss, it set up everything for the rest.

Ever since it’s release, It's been referenced in dozens of movies, techniques copied, and ideas reapplied. If you don’t believe me, check out The Evil Dead page on IMDB.com, and look for the Movie Connections page.  Movies like this one set the way for many in the genre like “Cabin Fever,” where five friends go to a cabin in the woods for the weekend, unknowingly develop a flesh eating virus, but all hope to make it out okay. Notice any parallels?