Jumanji movie review

We love the idea of watching movies as a family but it is rather sad that so many family movies have way too much violence. I wonder if these movies can actually be made in two versions: one for adults and then an edited version for the kids. While this is a great movie, we thought that parts of the movie could be scary for young kids - so I suggest that the parents watch it first and then decide how to prepare their kids for it and how to watch with them. They will love it but some of the horror is rather unexpected.

Alan Parrish (played by Robin Williams) finds a board game (Jumanji) and decides to play it with a friend Sarah Whittle without really knowing what it was. Very soon unexpected things happen and without warning Alan disappears into thin air and Sarah is chased out of the house by scary looking bats. 26 years later, two other kids in the same house (Judy Shepherd played by Kirsten Dunst and her brother Peter played by Bradley Pierce) play the same game after they find it in the attic while their aunt is not home (their parents died in an accident).

They are able to return Alan Parrish to a normal life after he disappeared into the game and in order to finish the game, they also track down Sarah Whittle but in order for everything to return to normal, they must play till the end. It ain't easy on anyone, including people not playing the game. Life in this tiny town is turned upside down and wild animals are roaming on Main Street.

It is an excellent fantasy/action moview and perfect for not only kids but even adults who like fantasy and action - for example, Pirate of the Caribbean Dead Men's Chest. Unfortunately parts of it border on horror (in a fun way, though, and nothing like the violence and horror you see in video games) but still strongly recommended.

Marcus movie review

Horror is a genre that I tend to explore occasionally (and mostly alone) and I have enjoyed some good movies during recent months (Vampyros Lesbos, Night of the Living Dead, etc.). But when I received the press kit for Marcus, I had no idea what the movie was about. It didn't take me long to find out. Within seconds, it was obvious that it was a horror film.

In my opinion, there are two types of horror movies. The first category includes movies with monsters and ghosts - these don't scare me because I know that they are unreal and more often than not include just computer-generated characters. The second category includes sick human beings (or animals) - these do manage to scare me because they are depictions of real people and without our knowing it, they might be around us.

Marcus belongs to the second category. You would not dream of any monsters or imagine that there are ghosts in your bedroom, but the image of this heartless killer will stay in your mind.

Here is the plot in brief. Brooke has invited her brother Roger for a Christmas meal and he has decided to bring along his fiancee Gwen to surprise his sister that he hasn't seen in several years. When they arrive at her door, they first meet his estranged friend Charles, who is now dating Roger's ex-girlfriend Kate. Not a great start. When they walk into the house, Brooke is nowhere to be found but Marcus, a man that no one knows, shows up claiming to be the man Brooke is dating. While the guests are not aware of this, but we see that Brooke is counting her last moments in the bathtub.

No one in the movie is comfortable with each other and they are all waiting for Brooke to come back home (Marcus informs them that she had a minor car accident and is on her way home). It turns out that Marcus is a scary psycho and pretty much kills everyone by the end of the movie without losing the mean smile on his face. You are left wondering that how a man who looks like a professional can be so brutal!

What makes this movie interesting and powerful is that with just a $35,000 budget, it manages to elicit superb acting from Ross Kurt, Marc Rose, Frankie Ingrassia, Jade Dornfeld, and Samantha Shelton, and has some excellent music that provides a contrast to Christmas carols that also play throughout the movie.

Strongly recommended.