I Was A Teenage Intellectual (1999) aka Byl Jsem Mladistvým Intelektuálem

2.5 / 5 May '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Marek Dobes, Stepan Kopriva
Written by: Marek Dobes, Stepan Kopriva
Actors include: Vladimír Skultéty, Sona Tomeckova, Robert Jaskow
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Short
Length: 17 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This really felt like a silly little joke which although it was a short film (at 16 minutes) it should have been maybe 3 minutes or so long. The gag is the comparison between intellectuallism and werewolfism which is kinda cute I guess but far from satisfying. Two junk food lovin' action fans are content in their lives until one of them is bitten by an intellectual. Suddenly he starts craving big words, big books and attending cult like meetings dressed in black. On a horror front this is very unsatisfying, and although I did laugh at the A Nightmare on Elm Street gag there isn't much else nice I could say.

Availability:  Not on DVD as far as I know

eXistenZ (1999)

2.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Play it. Live it. Kill for it.
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Written by: David Cronenberg
Actors include: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well I like David Cronenberg films, and I like Jennifer Jason Leigh as an actress so combining the two should be excellent right? Well the answer is yes for most people but I actually hated this. I found myself rolling my eyes through most of it and laughing at the technology and imagined advancements for the future. Leigh plays Allegra Gellar, a person who takes part in a new game along with a test group of others. Of course the line is blurred between reality and the game, and it's seemingly dangerous. There are also little reptile creatures with multiple heads everywhere and strange little computer animated effects that were silly. I guess this idea is fine, but the execution was sheerly silly, but perhaps it's because this is now 2010 and the technology from the '90s is a bit behind? I think it's more than that, I just never really got into this and I kept looking at the time because I really wanted it to be over. Take someone else's opinion because I think giving it 2.5 stars is generous but I think I'm in the minority here.

Availability:  On DVD

The Sixth Sense (1999)

3.5 / 5
Tagline: "I see dead people"
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Actors include: Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, Toni Collette
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Length: 107 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Even though I didn't guess what was taking place when I watched this, I still didn't find it amazing. I mean I know that's a big reason why everyone thought this was so cool but I didn't really find it very shocking. That being said this is by far the best M. Night Shyamalan film but I usually hate his work so by that standard this is a vast improvement. The story is about a boy who sees dead people (and yes once in a while the dead people surprise you) but they don't seem to think they are dead so he resorts to talking to a Child Psychologist who tries to help him through his problem. As far as ghost stories go it's not even one of my favorites but I suppose it's effective none the less.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray