Reviews

Eurotrip

This movie is absolutely hilarious. 'Eurotrip' is not afraid to show anything- and I mean ANYTHING. The movie is about Scotty Thomas, who has just graduated out of high school, and his girlfriend, Fiona, dumps him for a rocker played by Matt Damon. Then, he emails a really mean letter to his penpal in Berlin, Germany, after thinking that the guy wants to meet up with him- until his little brother points out to him that is penpal is actually a stunning gorgeous girl. So, Scotty and Cooper set out to Europe, and meet up with Jamie, and Jenny (Michelle Trachtenberg), two twins who are spending the summer in Europe, and they all set out to find Scotty's dream girl, and they go through some pretty hilarious situations.

This movie will have Nickelodeon's jaws dropped when they see their former television star, Michelle Trachtenberg, do the things she does in this movie. She's really grown up. She is the biggest name in this movie, along side the cameo by Matt Damon, but the rest of the cast were pretty good actors.

This movie had some raunchy situations. We see Jenny and Jamie, the two twins accidentily kiss each other, and some other things I probably shouldn't mention, that are twenty times worse than that, but if you're curious, go see the movie. The story to this movie is pretty ridiculous, but you can't hate the movie for all of the good laughs it serves. 'Eurotrip' will give you some good laughs and fun, and doesn't leave an empty spot anywhere. This would probably be really fun to go see with a big group of friends, you will be constantly laughing together. 9/10.

The Butterfly Effect (2004)

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

This movie was so intense and suspenseful! It is about Evan Traiborne (Ashton Kutcher- That 70's Show, Dude Where's My Car, Just Married), a man with a troubled childhood full of 'blackouts', caused by genetics inherited by his insane father. He grew up with a girl named Kayleigh, her brother Tommy, and a kid named Lenny (Kevin Schmidt- Cheaper By The Dozen). Tommy was a terrible kid who tormented Evan and consantly beat him up. Evan was told by his doctor that he should write in journals, everything that happens to him daily, so he can remember things.

Later on in life, he finds he can go back in time and change things by reading his journals. Curious about a certain incident where he blacked out, he confronts Kayleigh (Amy Smart- Road Trip, Varsity Blues), who was involved in it, with questions for her. But she ends up getting very upset and she kills herself later on that night. Then, Evan goes back to save her through his journals, changing his past, thus changing his present.

Ashton Kutcher does suprisingly good with a serious role, after seeing his in Dude, Where's My Car and Just Married, he seems to be good with comedy, but he is good. Amy Smart is also very good as Kayleigh. They both give powerful and emotional performances.

This movie had some intense scenes, and it is sometimes hard to follow, but it all comes together in the end. Great movie. 9/10.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

***Warning: Review Contains Spoilers*** I absolutely loved this movie. It had the ability to scare you, thrill you, and make you scream all together. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the best horror movies I've seen in a long, great while. I saw this movie three times, and I'm not ashamed at all.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre starts off with a group of five teenagers driving through rural Texas on their way to a rock concert. We have the good girl, Erin (Jessica Biel), the slutty hitchiker whose character you can't help but like, Pepper (Erica Leerhsen), the cool guy, Andy (Mike Vogel), the jokester guy, Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), and the take charge guy, Kemper (Eric Balfour). The group is driving along when they almost hit a traumatized girl on the road. They pick her up and take her into the van, and she begins mumbling things like "he's a bad man", and "your all gonna die". Then, she pulls out a gun and kills herself in front of them all. Si ck and puzzled, the gang drives to the nearest town, which is a redneck town, and they plan to meet the local sheriff (R. Lee Ermey) at an abandoned mill. After arriving there and seeing no sheriff, they one by one wander to the dilapidated farmhouse of Thomas Hewitt, or Leatherface, and his psychotic family of murderers.

The actors in this movie where wonderful. Leerhsen, Vogel, Balfour, and Tucker are given a very minimum of character background to work with, and they pull it off spectacularly. Jessica Biel, the only survivor of the massacre, is great, and man can she scream! R. Lee Ermey is downright scary as the crazed Sheriff Hoyt, as is the rest of his family, especially the new and improved Leatherface. Imagine that guy running after you with a chainsaw!

Director Marcus Nispel keeps things appropriately dark and eerie, which is exactly the opposite of the '74 original movie. Instead of focusing on a scratchy documentary type style (like the original), Nispel goes for the more glossy, updated look, which works out well. I never thought that Michael Bay, producer of Pearl Harbor, would have done a horror movie, but he showed me how well he can make one.

The intensity of this movie was off the charts, and it kept you on the edge of your seat the whole ride through. This movie was incredibly gory. If you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip this because of it's gore. It's pretty disturbing watching Leatherface "treat" some of his victims in his ways.

My favorite scenes in the film are when Erin and Andy go to the house and are chased by Leatherface, and Pepper's death scene in the van. That scene was intense, dramatic and horrifying, and I think the feathers floating from Pepper's torn jacket added something more.

If you haven't seen this movie, see it now and you won't be disappointed. It will scare you to death. I recommend this movie for horror fans. Serious fans of the original will hate this, but others like me, will love it. 10/10.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

***Beware Of Major Spoilers Throughout The Entire Review*** - To start off, I will say that this is one of my favorite movies of all time. I enjoyed the ability that this movie had to throw at you scares, tension, and intensity, that I saw it three times! Yes, I saw The Texas Chainsaw Massacre three times, and I'm not ashamed at all. Not at all.

Based loosely on true events (the crimes of Ed Gein), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" begins with five young teens traveling across rural Texas to a Lynnrd Skynnrd concert. In this group of teenagers we have the good girl, Erin (Jessica Biel). The slutty hitchhiker whose character you can't help but like, Pepper (Erica Leerhsen). The cool guy, Andy (Mike Vogel). The jokester guy, Morgan (Jonathan Tucker). And the take charge guy who is the leader of the gang, Kemper (Eric Balfour). The group of five teens are having a good time, when they almost hit a disturbed girl (Lauren German) walking down the road. The get out to offer her a ride, and see that she is in a state of shock. They take her into their van and she begins mumbling about a "bad man" and telling them that they are all going to die. Then, the hitchiker begins to go crazy, puts a gun to her mouth, and pulls the trigger. Sick and puzzled, the teens drive to the nearest hillbilly town, and plan to meet a sheriff at a local mill. After arriving at the mill, there is no sign of a sheriff, and guided by a neglected child of the psychopathic family, Jedidiah (David Dorfman), they wander into the clutches of Leatherface at his rundown farmhouse.

Director Marcus Nispel focuses more on keeping this film glossy and updated with more shadows and darkness, unlike the original "Chainsaw", which had a bright and scratchy, documentary style look to it. To tell you the truth, I disliked the original "Chainsaw" because of it's terrible acting and I found it a bit boring, but I will give it some credit because it's such a classic cult film. There are several neat shots in the new "Chainsaw", especially the one where the camera pans through the person's head and out the back window of the van after that person has shot themself in the head. I also loved the black and white police evidence footage that opened and closed the film, which I think brought it a feeling of realism. Producer Michael Bay (Pearl Harbor), didn't seem to me to have any experience in the horror genre, but pulls it off well. The filmmakers must have been aiming for a more realism in this horror film, unlike many we see today, and I will say they were dead right.

The acting here is wonderful, with good performances by Leerhsen, Tucker, Vogel, and Balfour, whom are given little character background to work with, but they manage it perfectly. Biel was great as the last survivor, which you will know before even seeing the movie. On rule in horror movies is that the hottest girl in the movie will always live. R. Lee Ermey is pretty crazy as he pulls of his character of the insane, motor mouthed sheriff with a lot of intensity. He also has a couple of funny lines that will most likely make you laugh. I also enjoyed the narration during the police footage that ended and opened the movie, done by John Larroquette, narrator of the original "Chainsaw". The acting and narration in this movie is very good.

The new and improved Leatherface (Andrew Bryniarski) is very scary, if not as scary as the original Leatherface was. Man, if you actually had this guy chasing you with a chainsaw, you'd be peeing your pants. His mask made of the human flesh is grotesque and disgusting, but has some modifications from the original mask. Through the last half hour of the movie, you'll be rooting for Jessica Biel as she gets chased all over by Leatherface, as Marilyn Burns did in the original film.

Surprisingly, this movie had a lot more gore than the first film. Most of the deaths in this movie were done with the power tool you would have expected, the chainsaw. Andy's death was probably the most upsetting, and you will see why after watching this movie. Kemper's death was quick and jolting. Morgan's death was pretty vicious. But, Pepper's death was my favorite one, because of it's intensity and drama. The feathers that floated all over from Pepper's jacket that got tore open by the saw added some intensity, and made it all the more dramatic. Right after her death, you'll be a bit disturbed after you see what, or should I say 'who' Leatherface is wearing for a mask. That moment sort of set the ending of that sequence with a bit of a jolt. I won't tell you what he is wearing, because it will ruin it for you. See it for yourself, and it should freak you out a bit.

To end this review, I want to say that this is a very good horror movie, one of the best I've seen. It has it all- intensity, gore, drama, scares, spills, and thrills! What more could you want to make a great movie??? This movie will be enjoyed by fans of the series, and fans of horror movies alike! I give The Texas Chainsaw Massacre a 10/10! And also remember, this movie sends out a strong message: never pick up hitchhikers!