Tag Archives: Alex Cross

Tuesday Talkies – Horns

Image February 10, 2015 jcisnowjs Leave a comment

“The Devil is Inside”, If you want to explain ‘Horns‘, in one statement, it will be this. But it has to be more complicated than this, and it is.

‘Horns’ is a supernatural thriller film based on novel of the same name, by Joe Hill. This film is directed by Alexandre Aja, and stars ‘Daniel Radcliffe‘ in the main lead.

Most disturbing part of this movie is to see our beloved pure soul Harry Potter play the satanic role in Horns. You know something is wrong when you see Harry without his nerdy glasses but instead with two devilish horns on his head.

Daniel is portraying the role of ‘Ig Perrish‘, the troubled soul who is accused of murdering his sweet girlfriend ‘Merrin’, played by Juno Temple. Other supporting cast includes Max Minghella as Lee, Ig’s lawyer friend, and only believer of Ig’s innocence; Joe Anderson plays Terry, Ig’s brother, who is addicted to drugs and music; Kelli Garner who plays Glenna, a childhood friend who secretly loves Ig but has made some terrible choices in life.

Ig is shunned by the society when everyone suspects that he has murdered his girlfriend. Even his parents are not sure of his innocence. One person who believes in him, is his best friend from childhood, his lawyer, Lee. Unable to clear his name from his girlfriend’s murder and frustrated of not knowing what exactly happened to her; Ig drinks heavily one night and landed on Glenna bed. Next morning he realize two strange scars on his head, which soon turn into two solid horns. Scared to death he rushed to doctor’s office and soon realizing that these horns are not some medical abnormality but instead there is something supernatural satanic essence to them.

Everyone around Ig’s horns starts behaving in a weird way, revealing a much darker side of themselves. Like a woman sitting in doctor’s office resents her screaming kid and wants to go away leaving her behind; while the kid actually wants to kill her parents; doctor wants to have sex with nurse right in front of Ig; media persons wants to kill their competition just to grab a exclusive bite. everyone is dark; everyone has an evil inside.

This is the theme of movie, which shows just how much darker we are from the inside. We want to do so many bad things so badly and the only thing that is controlling this rage inside is social norms. But, will you do it, if no one is watching you? Will you act on your darkest desires if there is no one stopping you, not even your consciousness? Will you be willing to kill someone if Satan asks you to?This is what Ig does. He notices that he can influence people in acting out their devilish desires and he use this paranormal strength of his horns, to find out Merrin’s killer.

This film could have offered so much, being a unique storyline and to have so many facets associated to it; but second half of this movie is turned into completely supernatural and absurd logic, that you kind of wonder what genre of film you are watching. It goes int so many modulations to bring that climax that a basic plot is lost. Only if it could be treated simpler, it could have been a masterpiece.

It is clumsy in the end with poor and stretchable editing. It is weird, unique and interesting but not streamlined. It has so many angles that in the end it looses the plot and you feel kind of cheated from a good sensible end. Worth a watch, just for the sake of watching Daniel performing something so out of his character, so beautifully.

Horns – Review(screenphiles.com)
Horns Review(coolreviewsrule.com)
Tuesday Talkies – From ‘I Saw The Devil’ To ‘Ek Villain’(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Religion and My Ignorance(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)

Movies

Tuesday Talkies – Oculus

Image December 16, 2014 jcisnowjs 3 Comments

“Journey is better than Destination”, this quote is apt for movie, Oculus.

Oculus is a critically acclaimed horror movie, directed by Mike Flanagan, who has also developed a short film before, based on the same concept.

Mike Flanagan directed a short film called “Oculus – chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan”, which became the underlying theme of this terrifying and brilliant horror film – Oculus.

Oculus stars Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites in the adult roles of siblings Kaylie and Tim respectively while Annalise Basso and Garrett Ryan play as 12 and 10 year old Kaylie and Tim.

Kaylie is convinced that it was something supernatural in the antique mirror that their family had, which resulted in murder of her Father Alan, and Mother Marie, some 11 years back. While her brother, Tim, who has just recently came out of a psychiatric hospital, denies every involvement of supernatural in his parents death. Kaylie decides to take revenge of their parents death and devise a plan to kill the evil. Tim, reluctantly agrees to help her.

They go back to their old house along with the evil Mirror and try to shoot the footage of evil mirror in action. They also devise a plan to automate destruction of the Mirror, in case anything bad happens to them.

Tim who was initially not in favor of Kaylie superstitious belief, gave up, when he also start seeing tricks played by the mirror. Soon, both of their lives get intertwined with their past; their younger selves. Everything seems untrue, yet so true. They start living in past, seeing their father changing into something evil, and their mother losing her mind and ultimately everything.

This is the highest point of horror that this movie has provided. Oculus just messes with your mind. It was mirror who is playing all the tricks but it is the concept laid out by Mike Flanagan, which takes the drama to a new height. With past and present intertwined, you will feel like part of an unsolved puzzle, which is getting mysterious with every scene. You want to scream for the kids; you want to help young Kaylie; you want Tim to kill that evil mirror; you want to do so much with this movie.

And there is the big THUD!!!

Movie does nothing. It has the most plain climax that any horror movie can have. I was just disturbed by the way this marvelous movie get treated in the end. Oculus deserved a much better end. Sigh!!!

At the end it just looks like that director wanted to make prequels and sequels of this movie; that’s why he has left so many questions unanswered in this movie, as if they want to leave their audience hanging in middle. But, to say honestly, this doesn’t look like a good idea.

Oculus is now an unfinished business for me. I hope they try to do justice to Kaylie and her family; and would give a proper end to monstrous mirror in the sequel.

Tuesday Talkies – Guardians Of The Galaxy(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Dante’s Inferno or my Hell-licious(jcisnowjs.wordpress.com)
Lessons From…Oculus(jeezuswords.wordpress.com)
10 Mondo Movie Posters That Rival the Original Artwork(shutterstock.com)

Books

Along Came A Spider

Image June 9, 2014 jcisnowjs 6 Comments

A thrilling, fast paced novel filled with gory details., but this is not all which can be said about James Patterson’s famous novel “Along Came A Spider”. For the lovers of thrillers and psychotic characters, this could be among the best choices, but if you are not very fond of insane characters, than go take a nap instead.

This novel takes a very good start by building the very gruesome foundation for our psychotic character Gary Sonezi, who starts off by kidnapping and killing an infant mercilessly. You can guess easily what he is capable of doing, if he starts his killing spree in such a sick way.

To match this psychotic killer we have our very own hero in the form of Alex Cross, the famous homicide detective who is determined and passionate about his work. Main plot starts off with kidnapping of two kids, one girl Maggie Rose and her friend, Shrimpie as known popularly . What makes this kidnapping, a crime of the century, is the fact that both the kids belong to the affluent families, one being kid of a celebrity and other one of treasury. In-fact the kids had their own personal bodyguards assigned to them by the secret services for protection.

Alex Cross is assigned to solve this kidnapping, along with Jezzie, from the Secret Services, who later becomes his love interest too. The mastermind of kidnapping, Gary Sonezi is shown as a cruel and devilish person, who has no remorse or soul, indeed he is a brilliant plotter who is always two steps ahead of Cross and whole bunch of secret service personnel. He comes across as one who makes backup plan, of a backup plan. Still he was caught in a very dramatic way. Later, however it does looked like, that this was also a part of his terrific plan.

Their is one interesting twist to the whole story, when even the kidnapper got duped by some opportunists. Incidentally Gary Sonezi, trusts Alex Cross to solve the final mystery more than himself or the police. Their is also a dramatic turn of events with a double personality disorder, which was actually being shown marvelously.

Now, coming to the points where this novel lacks, is number one it is pretty boring in the second half. It seemed to stretch beyond a point making it dull and heavy. At one point you just want to put down the book, but you are hanging only to see if Gary received the punishment he deserved. Romance is exaggerated and in such a boring taste. You can yawn easily between the love making sessions. They talk as if no two lovers or even normal persons talk to each other. What disgust me about this novel is the Racism card, which was played over and over. Their was no such need to glorify it or to make it such a big deal. It was like getting distracted by something which is so out of place for this kind of a book.

Only thing that this book needs is a better editing.Rest, it is a marvelous story told beautifully.