World War Z - Review by Insomniac's Cinema

World War Z (2013)- Movie Review by Insomniac's Cinema
Directed by Marc Foster
Starring Brad Pitt as Gerry Lane

Disclaimer:
Before you get mad about my review keep in mind that I DIDN'T READ THE BOOK! All compliments and critiques are focused on the film. Thank you :)

Rating: 6/10

World War Z, yet another zombie movie. It seems as though these movies are coming out faster than new Simpsons seasons (and that, is saying something.) But, usually even the bad zombie movies are pretty enjoyable, right? So, I went into this open minded and I have to say I am a bit conflicted. There were a lot  of things wrong with this movie, but the were also some things that I really liked about it.

The film is about an ex-army soldier, marine type person, Gerry Lane. One morning while he and his wife are busy dropping off their two daughters at school, the zombie apocalypse breaks out. After escaping the zombies Gerry contacts his military friend who then arranges to air-lift him and his family to a aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean. In order for Gerry  to keep his family on the ship he has to travel all over the globe trying and find out how the outbreak started. As time goes by he finds out more and more about virus and it's weaknesses but will he be able to save the world?

Ok, first off I have to talk about the zombies, I mean all of us want nothing more than to see some badass zombies, and I have to say that these zombies are pretty ferocious and freaking terrifying. If you thought the zombies in 28 days later were bad you haven't seen anything yet. These ones don't only run but they sprint, jump and kinda work together. The only downside was that a lot of the scenes containing a mass amount of zombies, they used CG instead of actual people, which does take you out of the story (especially since the "real" zombies looked really cool.)

I really liked the beginning of the movie (even though it has been done a million times before.)The problems start after they are saved. When Gerry leaves the ship you almost never get to see his family again. This made them seen really useless. They are also never in real danger so it doesn't seen as though Gerry "needs" to get back to them.

A big plot-point,which I really liked, is that Gerry has to travel all over the world in search for answers. In most of zombie movies the story plays out in a very secluded area or city but not in World War Z. You get to see how different parts of the world are busy coping with the outbreak. There is however also a down-side to him hopping from place to place, they seemed to kinda "rush" each different city.

Finally, I want to speak about the "end" of the movie. I loved the fact that if you pay attention you will see things throughout the movie that make you go, "hmmmm, why did that happen?" and in the end it all ties in, it was unique and an interesting idea.

All in all World War Z was a zombie movie which had the potential to be amazing and had some very interesting ideas, sadly it kinda missed the mark...

Rating: 6/10

The Haunting (1963) Review - The Insomniac's Cinema

The Haunting
1963
Horror
Robert Wise


In my opinion this can easily be considered to be one of the best haunted house movies ever made. It has everything you want in a this type of film, from the interesting characters to the scary house itself. The film was based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 novel, The Haunting of Hill house and was directed by Robert Wise (who two years later directed The Sound of Music) It stars Julie Harris as Eleanor Lance, a troubled young woman who gets invited by Dr. Markway to join the paranormal investigation into Hill house.

When she arrives at Hill House she meets Theo, Dr Markway and Luke Sanderson and together they embark on their paranormal investigation into Hill House. At First everyone is skeptical until things start to go horribly wrong and they realize that the house is in fact haunted...

Eleanor is an extremely interesting character (and was also portrayed fantastically) At the beginning of the movie she starts off as very naive and innocent (with hints that she does have a dark side) but as the movies progresses, Hill House (and it's spirits) start to change her into something very screwed up. During the film we don't get to know much of Eleanor's background but the things that you do know really make her up to be someone who is capable of doing things that (at first sight) you never thought she would or could do.

Since this movie is a 60's black and white horror film it does contain some overacting and overall cheesiness but in the end the characters still seem realistic and can successfully creep you out(Eleanor's dancing scene anyone?) The sets were also fantastically chosen, Hill House is extremely scary! Even though you don't really see the "ghosts" in the movie they are still very menacing thanks to the way they taunted the characters. (As properly demonstrated in the scene where Eleanor and Theo are trapped in their bedrooms)

The only thing that I would've wanted to see more of were actual paranormal experiments and also to see how the spirits affected the other characters...

All in all The Haunting is a truly fantastic movie and a definite watch for all movie buffs!


...9/ 10...(doors built on an angle)