Kaylee's 3 Mini Reviews

THE SHINING Mini Review

To view the summary of the shining, click here.

         I think this movie was very well done. When it first started with Jack being interviewed for the job as caretaker and when he is warned about what had happened previously, I think it grounded the movie for being considered a horror film. I think the music in this movie is very overdramatic, which adds to the film’s atmosphere, but sometimes it was too dramatic. For example, when Wendy and Danny were walking through the maze, the music was rising and the audience was getting ready for something to happen, but nothing out of the ordinary occurred, so I think it was almost a waste to use the music like that.

          There are also many unanswered questions in the movie, like what really happened in room 237, and the picture at the very end of the film. I find these unanswered questions very annoying and makes me more curious as to what the answers may be, but I also understand why they are there, because it also adds to the movie’s creepiness. 

           I’m not a big fan of horror/ thriller films, but I really enjoyed this movie because there wasn't a lot of blood and guts, but the suspense and creepiness was still there throughout the whole movie. Overall, I rate this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

PSYCHO Mini Review

         
To view the summary of Psycho, click here.
          I’m going to be honest here, when the movie first started and I saw that it was done in black and white, I thought it was going to be a really boring movie. I think the fact that I grew up in an age where movies were made in colour contributed to why I thought that black and white movies were always boring, which I now know is very untrue. But during the first few scenes when Marion was getting ready for and while she was at work, I was a little bored and I felt like some of the scenes could have been shortened to move things along. In the spur of the moment when Marion decided to keep the money and run away, I thought the scenes, especially with the camera angles and dramatic music, did an amazing job in making the audience feel as if they were the ones who took the money, and it really made me wonder if she was actually going to get away with it or not because of all the people she kept running into.

       

          
          When Marion arrived at Bates Motel, I knew right away that something bad was going to happen because of how stereotypically creepy the place looked and how weird Norman was acting. After Marion was murdered, I had a quick thought that Norman and the old woman was the same person, but as the movie progressed, I told myself that it didn’t make any sense because of how Norman was acting. At the end of the movie when Norman busted into the room dressed as the old woman, I instantly though “I KNEW IT!!”

          This movie did a great job at making the audience think one way when it was really another, and I really liked some of the camera angles and transitions. I think that since this film was black and white, it made the movie seem creepier than it would have been if it was done in colour. Overall, I would rate this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars.



THE TRUMAN SHOW Mini Review

 To view a summary of The Truman Show, click here.

          I really enjoyed this movie because of the unique story line of how Truman Burbank, an insurance salesman who lives in a “prefect” world on the island of Seahaven, happens to be the star of a very popular TV show, but he doesn’t even know it. I think the huge plot twist is amazingly well done when Truman realizes that his whole world was made up and his decisions were being manipulated by the God-like director of the show, Christof, in order for Truman to essentially live the “perfect” life. It was very interesting to see how Truman slowly finds out that his life was fake, like at the very beginning of the movie when a stage light falls from the sky, seemingly out of nowhere, or when he accidentally tunes into a radio station that is broadcasting his every move. I found it really cool to see how Christof decides to explain to Truman through a radio station the explanation of the fallen stage light, reporting that a passing plane shed some parts. 

          I liked the whole “star-crossed lovers” kind of feel between Truman and a girl he met in college, Lauren, but whose real name is Sylvia. When she is fired for having a forbidden interaction with Truman, it seems that she is the only one who has a problem with the fact that Truman is being lied to. 


          

          It was really creative how Truman decided to leave Seahaven via boat, and I was kind of amazed at how no one noticed him leave. I found it very weird how Christof was okay with risking Truman’s life just so Truman would go back and forget the whole thing ever happened. My favourite part of the whole movie was when Truman’s boat crashes into the end of the dome and when Christof has this whole speech planned out about how Truman should stay and continue to live in Seahaven away from the depressing pains of the real world, and how Truman dismisses this offer with the traditional greeting he has heard every day for many years of his life: “In case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight.” I thought it was the perfect way to end this movie. Overall, I rate this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars