The Woman In Black

Daniel Radcliffe, Roger Allam

Directed by James Watkins

Rating: B-

Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) is a single father trying to keep providing for his young son. Arthur is a lawyer and has to travel to a secluded village to finish up surveying an empty house after the tenants had died. His son is due to arrive in the village a few days later, accompanied by the nanny. The villagers are upset with Arthur disturbing the peace, as they believe that the house Arthur is to inspect is haunted. Whoever sees the "woman in black" brings danger to the villagers, as she causes the children of the area to die. After staying in the home to finish up work, Arthur begins to notice the woman in black and tries to find a way to help her move on before she decides to take his own son.

A fun scare, "The Woman In Black" is not a very serious horror movie. While it does give in to suspense and scenes that make you jump in your seat from fear, the movie itself is not that scary. The plot is kind of simple: villagers hate Arthur, Arthur sees the woman in black, Arthur tries to figure out why she is haunting the place. "The Woman In Black" does a good job with setting up the scenes but it lacks the necessary scare factor to make it really feel like it deserves to be called a horror film. For example, more scare scenes would have made this movie better like seeing the dead children or the woman in black more. Having toys wind up on their own and the rocking chair make noise is a good start for a creepy scene.

Radcliffe is the main star of the film. He definitely knows how to break out of the mold and shake off being forever labeled as "the guy that played Harry Potter". His portrayal of the widowed father showed how versatile he can be. I think I would go so far as to say that Radcliffe is one of the main reasons I liked the film. He's probably also the main reason many people went to go see it. "The Woman In Black" didn't earn much in the box office, so hopefully Radcliffe will move on to other projects. As it is, he is currently filming another period-piece due to premier in 2013. Let's just cross our fingers that period-pieces will not be all he will work on. (Though personally I love period-pieces, I'd like to see him try a comedy or drama, let him break out of the "Harry Potter" mold.)

I believe "The Woman In Black" is worth seeing if you're brave enough. I think it would be a fun movie to get friends together and watch in a dark room at night. This movie is not one to take seriously so if you enjoy suspenseful movies, add this to your movie list!

The Black Swan

Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Directed by Darren Aronofsky

Rating: 4 stars

In this twisted tale of The Swan Lake, Nina (Natalie Portman) strives to be perfect. Her dream is to play the lead of the Swan Lake and so she practices and practices and practices. Perfection is her ultimate goal. The choreographer, Thomas (Vincent Cassel), casts Nina as the Swan Queen where she has to dance both as the White Swan and the Black Swan. Nina's "White Swan" is perfect, as it reflects her personality. But as Nina tries to be too perfect, her "Black Swan" suffers. Lily (Mila Kunis) is new to the dance studio and is seen as a threat to Nina. Lily seems nice as she tries to be friendly to Nina. What's threatening is that Lily is the new girl and would be perfect as the Black Swan. Thomas sees this. So Nina is under pressure to break out of her good-girl mold and try to loosen up a bit. However, it costs her life to reach it.

The Black Swan is truly a great movie. The symbolism in it is what makes this movie so amazing. You see Nina, this young woman (her age is never revealed but I'm guessing she's in her early 20's), who dedicates her life to ballet. She's the image of innocence. All she wants is to be perfect. When she gets the role of the Swan Queen, all her dedication to dancing has paid off. However, Thomas keeps telling her she needs to loosen up a bit in order to be the perfect Black Swan. The White Swan represents innocence and precise moves. The Black Swan is flirtatious and full of experience. Nina, being as innocent as she is, can't achieve the perfection to be the Black Swan. She tries too hard, Thomas says. But as the movie progresses, you see Nina transforming herself into the Black Swan, losing that innocence you see her as in the beginning. By the end of the movie, she kills herself because she has done it: reached perfection in her own eyes.

The reason I think this movie deserves four stars instead of five is because it's a little disturbing. The thing is, it was necessary in order to make this movie beautiful. The symbolism, the transformation from White Swan to Black Swan, that makes this movie amazing. Yet, seeing Natalie Portman go crazy and imagining things (like the bedroom scene with herself and Mila Kunis), the hospital scene with Winona Ryder, the murder of Mila Kunis in her dressing room, this was all a little too much. Obviously she had some mental disorder. I wouldn't recommend this movie to those who like a happy ending, the faint-hearted, and the sensitive. If you're going to watch this movie, be prepared that it is hard hitting. It's an amazing movie but also on the dark side too. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Paranormal Activity 2

Brian Boland, Sprague Graydon, Molly Ephraim, Katie Featherston

Directed by Tod Williams

Rating: 4 stars

A prequel to the first Paranormal Activity, this second film gives us a little more insight to the demon haunting sisters Katie (Katie Featherston) and Kristi (Sprague). In the first Paranormal Activity, we are spooked by a demon with no explanation as to why it's bothering a nice, suburban couple. All we know is that when Katie was young, something "paranormal" seemed to be going on in her household that her sister noticed too. In Paranormal Activity 2, we find out why the demon goes to Katie. After first "disturbing" Kristi, the demon moves on to Katie (which we see in the first movie). In a desperate attempt to get his wife back to normal after being in a "possessed" state, Daniel (Brian Boland) has no choice but to consult someone who would know how to fix this. It comes down to passing the "disturbance" to a blood relative and that relative happens to be Kristi's sister, Katie.

I would give this movie five out of five stars. Though slow at first, the director, Tod Williams, has to build up the storyline. However, when the "paranormal activity" starts to act up, it is a scare that will leave you shaking. First it starts subtly, with the pool vacuum always ending up outside the pool by morning, and doors opening wider. As Kristi and her step-daughter Ali (Molly Ephraim) start noticing something strange going on the activity gets worse. Doors slamming, people being dragged by an unseen force, pots falling from hooks and kitchen drawers simultaneously slamming wide open are enough to make you jump in your seat and cower. Paranormal Activity 2 is so well made that while you're watching it, it feels real. Almost as if you could go home and find that it's happening to you.

This is a great example of a suspenseful horror film and perfect for nights at home when you want to be spooked. Paranormal Activity 2 gives you the sense how not even during the day can you feel safe. Involving a one-year old also brings something different to the feel of realism, showing this could happen to anyone. [SPOILER:] Having Hunter -Kristi's baby- be the possible target of the movie (he doesn't get hurt!), makes it a little bit scarier. For example, did you notice how at one point during the movie you couldn't see Hunter's reflection on the mirror?

Paranormal Activity 2 is a great scare and ties up the loose ends from the first film. Like where did Katie go after murdering Micah? But leaves you asking, where did she take Hunter? I hope there will be a third movie -a final installment- to resolve this paranormal phenomenon once and for all. Paranormal Activity 2 proved to be a success and not a flop like some sequels are; though I'm not really sure how a third Paranormal Activity would play off. I would recommend seeing this movie if you like a good thrill and enjoy being spooked. If you get scared easily or are superstitious, I would stay home and watch a comedy or something else a little light-hearted.

Coincidence or not? As I was driving home after seeing this movie, the license plate in front of me said "Hunter 1". Scary...