Review: Lost [Season 1]

Lost

Season 1

IMDB rate: 8,5

Genre: Mystery, Drama, TV Show

Well, I'm quite late to this party, but I've finally started watching Lost. I bought a few seasons a while back, but I never got around watching it because I was missing season 1. Well, luckily there's season 1 on Netflix, meaning that again, I was addicted to another TV show. I've heard of Lost many times before and while it seemed kinda fun to me, I never got around watching it. It's quite funny because I remember that Lost first came to the Dutch television and it was announced that this was 'The best mini-serie of all time!', yes you read that correctly, "mini-serie". Six seasons later and it's being said that there still isn't a good answer to everything. Of course, I don't know anything about this yet and can't confirm anything since I'm only at season 2 at the moment. Perhaps I will watch Lost till the last season, but it's being said that it's quite boring after awhile, so I can't say for sure yet.
All I know is that I really enjoyed watching Lost, season 1. As I said, I am halfway through season 2 and I still enjoy watching it.
It's really a good TV show and I think that season 1 is brilliant. I do notice that season 2 is a bit less fun, but still very interesting. But I'll talk about that in the next Lost review!

I thought it would be nice to discuss the main characters and what I think about them.
!WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!

• Jack Shepard: Well there are always people like Jack in a TV Show. The good guys who try to save everybody. Until this moment he does not have a bad thing shown yet. While all the others appeared to be not very nice in 'their previous life', he seems to be the only one this far that doesn't have any problems. I also think that Matthew Fox is an excellent choice for his character. He is serious but also has a soft side.
• Hugo 'Hurley' Reyes: Definitely one of my favorite characters on this show. He's very sweet and big and doesn't lose an ounce on this deserted island, a very strange matter, but I really like him. He brings a bit of humor in this show with his comments on everybody. Jorge Garcia is also a good choice for Hurley, I think they would resemble each other a lot in real life.
• Sayid Jarrah: Naveen Andrews plays the guy from Iraq, Sayid. I only knew the actor Naveen Andrews from the movie Planet Terror so this role is quite different from that one. I like that he is the smart guy on this island, he doesn't search for trouble with the others and is mostly apart from the rest. I do think that his character became a bit darker in the second season because of events that happened and this 'new Sayid' is a bit less fun, but besides that, I think that his character will grow a lot. 
• James 'Sawyer' Ford: His character is a real scumbag in the first season and I disliked him a lot, but his character changed a bit in season 2 and he's a lot more likable this way. He's kinda sarcastic but that's also what makes him funny. 
• Kate Austen: I would like to learn everything about her since she's the real badass of the island. I'm in season 2 at the moment and I still don't know everything about her. I am getting a bit crazy of her running between Jack and Sawyer though, a bit too much Twilight-alike. Make a goddamn choice woman! Evangeline Lilly is a very pretty woman and I think she possesses the sweetness and the toughness that Kate also possesses. So I think she's an excellent choice for the role of Kate.
• John Locke: Not too sure what to think of him. One time he seems like a good guy and the other time he seems like the bad guy. Also, he has this weird mouth which makes him look like he's always smiling even when he's sad or at a funeral or something. I think he will eventually become a bad guy, but that are only guesses.

There are so many other people to talk about, Jin Kwon and Sun Kwon are both main characters too, but I find their characters a bit underdeveloped at the moment. They don't seem to have a lot of functions for the main story. Especially Jin is very useless. Claire Littleton is also very useless for the story I think. She's always busy with the baby and seems kinda selfish sometimes. The one time that interesting things happened with her she couldn't remember anything of it so that makes her kinda useless. I do like the character of Dominic Monaghan though, which is Charlie. Charlie is a funny guy but a bit stupid. He brings a bit of humor to Lost.

There are 25 episodes in season 1 of Lost, which are way too many to discuss them all. 

Favorites:

Episode 1: Pilot part 1

Episode 2: Pilot part 2

Episode 11: All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues

Episode 15: Homecoming

Episode 18: Numbers

Episode 23: Exodus part 1

Episode 24: Exodus part 2

Episode 25: Exodus part 3

Least favorite:

Episode 5: White Rabbit

Episode 6: House of the Rising Sun

Episode 8: Confidence Man
Episode 19: Deus Ex Machina

All together, I grew to be a big fan of Lost. I think it's an amazing TV show this far and I'm very curious about what's still coming. Obviously, I am only at season 2 yet so I can't say a lot about it yet. It is being said that Lost becomes real terrible after a few seasons, but I don't know yet. I will watch it until it becomes terribly boring but I hope I can watch it until the very last season.

I must say that it seemed to me like the last episode of Lost season 1 would be the ending, but then in the very last seconds it seems like they changed their mind. That scene could have been the ending so that it would indeed be only a Mini-serie, but that scene could have also gone in a way where they can continue the show. Apparently they choose for the second one, because there suddenly happened something in the very last seconds. I like how the show continues, but I wouldn't have mind if it had ended in the way it could have been.


I do recommend watching Lost, it's a very good show especially season 1. Very good acting and an excellent cast brought together. The storyline is interesting and fun to follow. A lot of cliffhangers make you want to watch the entire season in one day.

My personal rate: 8,5/10

TONIGHT!

The Walking Dead starts again tonight, I'm so excited!

Review: Orphan (2009)

Orphan

IMDB rate: 6,9

Genre: Killer Kids

It has been quite some time since I last saw this movie. I remember that when I first saw it I did not like it a lot. But now I've seen it again I remember why, it's a very long and unsettling movie. There are a few annoying moments in it but overall it's a reasonable movie.

Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage. Kate had a drinking problem, but is in therapy and is doing well. She has been sober for one year. The couple decide to adopt a child. When they meet the nine-year-old Russian girl, Esther, at the St. marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan. Their young son, Daniel, is hostile to his new sister; but their deaf daughter, little Max, is enchanted with her - at first. Eventually, Kate begins to feel that Esther is manipulative and possibly even psychologically disturbed. John refused to listen to his wife's misgivings, and the wounds in their marriage reopen. Kate calls Sister Abigail at the orphanage, and the nun informs her that Esther has a troubled and mysterious history. Kate delves further into Esther's past and discovers she is not all she pretends to be.

Since watching this movie for the first time I grew an immense disliking for the actrice Isabelle Fuhrman, but now I saw it again I know why... She's a brilliant actress in this movie and her role is so brutal and scumbag-ish, that it's quite hard to not dislike her. I dislike her in a way as in I dislike Daeg Faerch from the Halloween remake, they both play the scumbag role that well, that it's hard to not dislike them. They're both great actors.

Not too sure what to think of Vera Farmiga, to be honest, I like her sister Taissa Farmiga (American Horror Story) a bit better as an actress. I find Vera a bit plain in this movie and she's kinda stupid for her actions. She should talk more to her husband instead of immediately hurting Esther, the way she does it in the movie she looks like the bad guy instead of Esther.

Peter Sarsgaard is also kinda dumb in the movie, the entire movie he is all protective about Esther and suddenly in the last scene he says that she is indeed a scumbag. Dude, couldn't you sat that earlier? Because of your ignorance, your wife and son are in the hospital. The switch between protective and aware of Esther's true nature came a bit too sudden I think. Also, his acting abilities were a bit boring to be honest. His face was all emotionless the entire movie.

I think Orphan has an excellent storyline. The entire movie you think that Esther is just a real scumbag kid that's kinda fucked up inside her head, but then there's a plot twist and it changes quite a lot I think. I would have liked to know why she is like this though, it might have been kinda interesting. But since the movie was already too long for my taste, I think that adding more about Esther's history would have been too much.

I also watched the alternative ending, where you see that Esther is alive and well in her room and is being taken by the police. I did not really like this ending, it was kinda boring and it made me sad that she won.

The movie is very dark and has some brutal scenes. I think it was a very good movie but some moments were a bit annoying. Especially the parts where John's (Peter Sarsgaard) ignorance was being shown. Also, I really dislike movies where talking to each other seems to be difficult. If everyone would just talk normal to each other, there wouldn't have been a lot less issues. Of course, this is only a movie and talking would be taking out the tension, but a bit more talking would have been appreciated.

Overall this is a decent movie. It has some very story moments but also a few weaker ones. The acting of Isabelle Fuhrman is amazing and that makes it definitely worth a watch.

My personal rate: 6,5/10

Review: Evil Dead (2013)

Evil Dead

IMDB rate: 6,5

Genre: Possession

So it was finally time for me to watch The Evil Dead, the most anticipated movie of 2013. I've seen the original one only once, but I was very drunk at the time so unfortunately I can't remember much of it. I am planning to watch it again though, but in a sober state this time. I remember only small parts of the original Evil Dead so I can't compare the two unfortunately.
I did like this movie quite a lot. Very good one.

Five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin. When they discover a Book of the Dead, they unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

Evil Dead is definitely my favorite movie of 2013 at the moment, but with that I must say that I haven't seen many 2013 horror movies. Besides that, it's quite a good movie. Very good special effects, good acting and quite a fun story.
With many horror movies, it feels like it takes awhile before it reaches an interesting point, a point where suddenly a lot is happening, but with this movie, it felt like it all was very quick, and I thought the movie must be almost over, but surprise, it was actually still in the beginning. A nice turn of events. This really is one of the good horror movies of the last few years. I know that many people dislike remakes, but I think that there are many people who also like this remake. Or well, remake, reboot, sequel, prequel, whatever it is, it's really a good movie.

What I loved in this movie were the amazing special effects. It's filled with blood and gore, just as Evil Dead is supposed to be. It was an amazing combination between awesome and brutal. The tension is builds up great, it was good at the beginning, but at the ending it was amazing. The make-up looks amazing. I read that they did not use any CGI in this movie, just like in the original one. I love that they did this, keeping true to the original. With these effects some parts reminded me of The Exorcist. Great feeling.

Sure, this movie is a bit over-the-top, and it's all a bit too much, but from what I can remember of the original Evil Dead, it was the same. That's what makes it the Evil Dead. I did not find it a scary movie, but a good shocker it was.

I really liked this movie a lot. It was very good and had incredibly images. The special effects looked incredibly good and the acting was amazing. The movie is definitely one of the better ones that I've seen in the last few years. I'm quite sure that even die-hard Evil Dead fans will enjoy this remake, because it's simply brilliant. Go watch it!

My personal rate: 8,5/10

Review: Hemlock Grove [Season 1]

Hemlock Grove
Season 1

IMDB rate: 6,9

Genre: Supernatural, TV Show, Werewolf

I notice that my Horror Diary is slowly turning into a TV Show blog, I'm sorry for that but I'm quite addicted to a few at the moment. I will watch at least one movie again this evening, so the horror movies will be back!

To stay in the horror theme, I watched Hemlock Grove, season 1. Quite an interesting TV show to be honest, I'm very curious about the next season.

Hemlock Grove is made by Eli Roth so as you can imagine, things are awesome! I told a few people that I was watching a TV show about Werewolves and stuff, and everyone was like; Ah another Twilight inspired TV show?! And I was like: DUDE, this was partly created by the creator of Hostel, do you really think this will be anything like Twilight?! 

Well, that being said, of course it's nothing like Twilight. First of all, it's mostly about werewolves instead of vampires and there are a hell of a lot things going on that don't involve sparkling pedophiles. 

At first I was not sure what to think of this show. I thought it was interesting but it was not really catchy yet. Luckily, that changed after awhile.

The acting in this TV show is very good. Famke Janssen plays Olivia Godfrey who is the mother of Roman Godfrey, played by Bill Skarsgard. Famke Janssen is a brilliant actress and really like her a lot. One of the few Dutch actresses who I truly like. Bill Skarsgard is the son of actor Stellan Skarsgard and the younger brother of actor Alexander Skarsgard, so as you can see, he comes from a quite amazing family. He acted amazing. At first he was cold-hearted and very cool, but after awhile he showed that he also has a human side, that switch was amazing. Landon Liboiron plays Peter who is the werewolf in this show and personally he's my favorite. Excellent actor who I'd love to see a bit more. 

The one who I'm most curious about is Roman's sister Shelley who is a huge girl but is also part robot-like. We learn a few things in this season, but I would love to learn a lot more about her. 

Again, I wont discuss every episode of Hemlock Grove, simply because I can't remember every detail of each one. I will discuss my favorite and least favorite one though. 

Season 1, episode 8: Catabasis

This was my least favorite episode. At least, I think it was. IMDB does not provide much information about the episodes yet so I can't exactly remember which episode it was. But, in the cast of this episode there's a girl named Pretty Shelley, so I guess this is the episode that I mean. Roman Godfrey is in a coma, and while he is in a coma he sees visions with a pretty version of Shelley. She guides him through some events and well, it was very boring after awhile. This was the only episode where I kept looking if it was almost over yet.

Season 1, episode 13: Birth

This was my favorite episode. It was incredibly touching and it explained so many things that were kinda confusing in the beginning. It gave many answers and a lot of interesting things happened. The acting was amazing and it was a perfect ending for a season. There were some things revealed in this episode that makes me very curious about the next season. 

While I was not too impressed by this TV show in the beginning, I certainly am now. It's filled with blood and gore, amazing images, a very interesting story and it has a lot of excellent actors in it. It's certainly an amazing TV show for horror fans. 

I'm very curious about season 2, but unfortunately I have to wait till 2014 for that.

My personal rate: 8,5/10

Review: Under The Dome [Season 1]

Under The Dome

Season 1

IMDB rate: 7,2

Genre: TV Show, Science Fiction, Drama

I've developed some serious TV show addiction the last couple of weeks. I finished watching season 1 till 4 of The 4400, season 1 of Hemlock Grove and now season 1 of Under The Dome. And that only in 2 and a half week. And now I started watching Lost, so I hope that will take a bit longer.

So, Under The Dome is of course adapted from Stephen King's book with the same name. This might be one of the very few Stephen King books that I haven't read yet, but I am planning on buying it, it might be some fun comparison material. 

I don't really know which genre Under The Dome should be at. It might be a science-fiction, but also a thriller, supernatural or even a bit of a post-apocalyptic genre. A bit confusing and difficult to decide sometimes. I went with science-fiction because I think that fits best. And of course drama.

Speaking of drama, Under The Dome is filled with it. I don't think it's a good thing in this case because it became kinda boring after a while. I mean, the dome coming down is very interesting and gives very much potential for an amazing story -again, I haven't read the book yet- but instead the dome became some sort of side story after awhile. People are stuck there and that causes a lot of drama of course, and that's only logical. But what I would have liked to see a bit more was of course more about the dome. I would have liked to see that they tried everything possible to get out of this thing. And why is or isn't this possible? Instead, they are just mentioning in between the drama that there was also fired a laser to the dome which didn't work.

I really liked the pilot. It was very well written and super interesting too. It had amazing scenes of cows split in half, crashing cars and all sorts of cool things that involved the dome. But unfortunately, after the pilot, things got bad and not to forget, very unbelievable. 

At some point in this show there's coming in incredibly bad dialogue which won't change until the end. Everything is overdone, and with every dramatic thing that's being sad there's some sort of -TATADA!- music under it. Very annoying after a while. 

Then there's the acting, the only one that I enjoyed watching the entire season was Mike Vogel. Not only did he play a very smart and cool character, he played it very well. 

The others... not so much. 

Rachelle Levevre as Julia is perhaps not that bad but sometimes she's overacting a bit. 

Natalie Martinez plays a very lovable cop, and with that being said, also the worst cop ever. I believe that with every arrest she made she was kicked in the head during it so the prisoners could escape. This happens so often that it's just not fun anymore. 

Britt Robertson plays the dumbest girl I've ever seen. She gets kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend and a few days later she's suddenly kissing him again. I'm sorry, but that's not very natural. Even when it's only for distraction, there are other ways to distract people. 

Alexander Koch plays Junior. He's an obvious schizophrenic and should not be allowed to be a cop, why is everyone so dumb to see that?

But the one who bothers me most is Mackenzie Lintz, not only is she a horrible actress, I keep getting distracted by her face; what's wrong with it?! It just doesn't fit.

I can go on and on about the bad script writing, and this has very little to do with the acting jobs of these people, but putting the bad script writing aside, some parts are terribly acted.

With all this together, I can't imagine that this is how Stephen King has written the book. Not with all this drama. I'm very curious to find out about it.

All together, I did not really like it a whole lot. The concept is excellent, but it's all too much. This is a TV show that should have lasted only one season so it would be a mini TV-show. This way it would have been a lot more interesting and I would have known the answers by now. 

The show ended with quite lame, it was supposed to be a cliffhanger, but it was not very interesting. It did not make me want to watch season 2 or anything. With that being said, I'm not sure if I will even watch season 2. I was more annoyed by this TV show than entertained. Perhaps I will watch it if it's sure that there won't be a season 3 or else it would be just useless to watch.

The dome story is very interesting and I am quite curious to find out all about it, but I'm not a big fan of all the drama around this dome.

My personal rate: 6/10

Review: From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

From Dusk Till Dawn

IMDB rate: 7,2

Genre: Vampire

Yesterday I finally watched From Dusk Till Dawn. I've wanted to watch this movie for quite a long time already but for some reason I never finished watching it.

It's a really fun movie to watch. What I love most about it is that I can recognize Robert Rodriguez style in it.

Also, it's very cool to see all these familiar faces.

After a bank heist, brothers Richie and Seth Gecko plan to head to Mexico to evade arrest. At a motel, Richie kills their hostage and their journey hits a hard spot, but, just when things could have gotten worse, the Fuller family shows up. Seth takes them hostage and the five successfully cross the border. The five pull to a bar called "The Titty Twister", where Seth will meet his handler in the morning. When moon strikes, the stripper and workers turn into vampires and the survivors must soon fight for their lives.

I'm a massive fan of Robert Rodriguez, and again even in a fairly old movie, he does not disappoint me. I especially love him in collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, again, someone who I'm a massive fan of. This was the first time for me that I saw this movie and I loved it. The humor is good, the acting is amazing as always, and things just feel good. Even when the vampires look a bit fake, it does not matter with this movie simply because it's such a fun movie to watch. It's a movie that you can enjoy without thinking about it too much. And not to forget, Robert Rodriquez always has the best music in his movies.

Well, speaking of those vampires, they really don't look too good. I thought they resembled the vampires of Buffy the Vampire Slayer a lot, mixed in with the creepy girl/boy/demon from the last scene of [Rec]. It was very cool though to see Danny Trejo, Salma Hayek, Harvey Keitel and Quentin Tarantino as vampires. Very different look for them ;).

The acting is really good, but well, what can you expect when you have suck an amazing cast that includes George Clooney, Salma Hayek and Harvey Keitel? There was one person that I did not like a lot and that was Juliette Lewis. But to be honest, I just don't like her as an actress. In every movie she's kinda boring, even when she's trying not to be boring.

All together, I love From Dusk Till Dawn. The script is written excellent, with a darkly humorous undertone. As always in these movies, you will laugh at a lot of the lines. The acting is overall very good and the special effects are very good. Torn off limbs, blood splashing everywhere and a lot of other gore.

My personal rate: 8,5/10