Worst Movies of the Year

It's been an interesting year. There have been some great films and some real bombs. Here's my list of the worst films this year.

3. Wild Hogs
This film was a very sad attempt on the midlife crisis film. Tim Allen was okay, but this film's real LVP goes to William H. Macy. He's a great actor, but this role just isn't him. Grade: C-

2. Saw IV
If I had given a title to the less-gore-less-chills sequel, it would be How To Make a Bad Franchise Four Times Worse. The ending doesn't make sense, there's very little blood (gore hounds will be left wanting more. Waaaay more) The lessons are cruel and not as preachy. Horrible acting and Shawnee Smith (who plays Amanda) has almost no screen time. Grade: D-

1. License to Wed
Robin Williams needed more room. Mostly for improv. This is a hapless mess. Don't bother with it. Grade: F

"Saw" It Be"4": Review for Saw IV

The first film of the gore happy Saw series was relatively good. The second was disappointing. The third, hopeful yet seriously flawed. The fourth one, well...it may be the worst film of the series. Jigsaw "returns" to play more games with more victims. The very beginning of the film starts with Jigsaw's dead body in the morgue and then two doctors performing an autopsy. They find a cassette tape (great...) revealing that Jigsaw's work is not done. After finding where agent Kerry ( Dina Meyer) had been trapped, they learn that Amanda (Shawnee Smith, who has almost no screen time), Jigsaw's (Tobin Bell) apprentice, couldn't have put Kerry in the Angel Trap (see Saw III) and that it was someone else gasp!, someone heavier! Detective Rigg (Lyriq Bent), seen in the previous two movies, is being tested by Jigsaw because he has an "obsession" with saving people. What follows is a trip into the past with bad traps, very little scariness, and a badly written script. The acting is nothing special. The plot is really bad (we are led to believe that Jigsaw's ex-wife is the one following his work. she isn't.) and the twist ending doesn't make sense (I mean it doesn't make sense). This is very disappointing and save yourself from seeing it. It is not worth it. I would give a full synopsis, but it would spoil the entire movie. Grade: D+

Life and Its Puzzles: Review for Saw

Saw is the first of four horror films. Adam (writer Leigh Whannel) and a Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes) wake up in a disgusting bathroom. In their pockets are tapes that say "Play Me". In the middle of the floor is a a dead body with a tape player in one hand and a gun in the other. These two strangers are pawns in the sick life games of Jigsaw (Tobin Bell). Jigsaw is infamous for teaching sick life games in which they end up killing themselves. The moral is to not take your life for granted. As each of the strangers' lives unravel, the sick mind of Jigsaw drives through the twists and turns. The script is extremely well written, featuring "How far would you go...?" situations and great psychological aspects. Jigsaw is extremely smart, thinking of everything before he begins. The life lessons are truly ingenious (e.g. You have this device on your head that rips your mouth open and the key is in your cell mate's stomach.). How Much Blood Would You Shed To Stay Alive? reads the posters. But when you watch this film, think about what you would do in their situations. Though the acting from Elwes and Whannel are pretty bad (Elwes acts like he's Whannels soccer coach), the film is a scary, smart, pyschological, suspenseful thriller. The first film directed by newcomer James Wan and writer Leigh Whannel, which is based on a short film they made in film school of the same title. Grade: B+ Stars: 4/5 Stars: 7.5/10 Writing: Grade: A- Stars: 4.5/5 Stars: 8.5/10