Sorority Row

The scariest thing about Sorority Row is that it's even worse than it's predecessor, The House on Sorority Row. The House on Sorority Row was awful, bad acting, dull script, and one of the dumbest endings in horror movie history.

The "plot" of the film centers around a stereotypical sorority consisting of the alpha mean girl, the drunk, the geek, the nice girl, the token minority and the future corpse. But what's this the future corpse's boyfriend is cheating on her? Oh noes! The only thing to do is perform an elaborate prank that ends in an accidental death. Not wanting to get in any trouble the girls hide what they did and try to move on. Then this killer fisherman starts hunting them down and... wait wrong movie.

The actors in this film are pretty unremarkable. Audrina Partridge actually comes off as one the more interesting characters in the film, and she doesn't even make it to the second reel. Carrie Fisher is fun and bad ass as the girls' housemother but that doesn't make the film worth watching. Poor Carrie, she can do so much better.

Rumer Willis fares the worse as the slowly falling apart geek sister. Her entire role consists of her crying or worse yet screaming. Her character screams the most out of the entire film. I found myself mentally begging the killer to just do it already and spare my tortured eardrums. Rumer is a good actress, she just needs to stop taking craptacular roles like this one.

The murders are dull, no real shock value, no honest scares. Too many minor, unnecessary, characters clutter up the film and the identity of the killer and their reasons for killing, even more ludicrous than the House on Sorority Row.

Oddly enough though, the film did have some funny one liners. Had the film concentrated on the humor as opposed to the horror, this could have been a fun little movie.

The Vampire Diaries

Let me start this review by saying I have never read the Vampire Diaries books,I am strictly reviewing the television series. If anyone can tell me what they changed in the television series I'd be most appreciative.

I am a fan of Nina Dobrev and it was because of her that I gave this show a chance. I thought I was going to hate it, but to my surprise I found myself enjoying it. Vampire Diaries is not your typical CW teen drama. It's a fun show with a great cast and decent writing.

Another pleasant surprise for me was the casting of Ian Somerhalder who used to play Boone on Lost. His portrayal of the vampire Damian is so fun to watch and oddly I find myself rooting for him even though he's essentially the villian of the show. While I don't recognize any body else from the cast, they are all pretty decent. Even though I like Nina Dobrev, her character is kind of one sided. I hope the writers concentrate more on fleshing out her character so that she seems a little less Mary Sue.

The cinematography and special effects are impressive as well. I especially like how they make the vampires "vamp out". The series does seem to borrow from various sources, I see a little bit of Bram Stoker, Lost Boys, and True Blood in mix, unfortunately it also seems to taking some cues from Gossip Girl as well.

The music used in the show is kind of irritating, mostly CW inspired douche rock but I was pleased that they used Placebo's Running Up That Hill, a personal favorite of mine.

I admit it, I like this show and will continue watching. The Vampire Diaries airs Thursday nights at 8pm on The CW.

Halloween 2

I have never ever walked out of a movie theater disappointed with a Rob Zombie film. I love Rob Zombie and for the most part approved of his take on the Halloween legacy. And I wish he had kept his word and not made a sequel.

Halloween 2 should have never been made. It is simply a rehash of the first film with a ridiculous plot line thrown into the mix. The movie has none of the intensity of the previous film and contains no truly scary moments.

My biggest beef is with the casting. A big complaint lies with the return of Malcolm McDowell and Danielle Harris. While both great actors their returns to Halloween 2 were pointless and a waste of their talents. What was the point of bringing them back from their near deaths in Halloween 1?

The Sam Loomis I knew and loved would not rest until Michael Myers was stopped. That Sam Loomis would have never been obsessed with a silly book tour and fame. All poor Danielle Harris' character got to do was stand around patting Laurie's shoulder before her pointless demise. Why bring her back at all? And what was the point of creating new friends for Laurie? They were boring and not worth the screen time.

I never could accept Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strode. Her Laurie was too hyper and spastic. She had none of the quiet grace and dignity that Jamie Lee Curtis brought to the role. I was hoping that the second film would portray her a little more seriously, but instead she was even worse. I was fed up with the character before the film had even hit the halfway mark. Even the presence of Sheri Moon Zombie, another favorite actress, could not save the film for me.

I will see Rob Zombie's work but my infatuation with the Halloween reboot is over. Trust me avoid this one and simply rent Zombie's first Halloween, you won't be sorry.