buchhol2

V/H/S 2 manages to fix the faults of the first. It's shorter and takes the grungy, exploitative snuff film tone of V/H/S and adds more excitement and humor. The quality of the shorts this time around are much more consistent, but they are still a mixed bag. The first short "Phase I: Clinical Trials" is average at best, but it mixed in a bit of humor which I liked. "A Ride in the Park" was fantastic and incredibly unique in it's use of the first person POV. It was my favorite of the four segments. "Safe Haven" is a close second with countless WTF moments. I would have loved a feature length version of this one. The weakest entry was the last, "Slumber Party Alien Abduction". It ineffectively used loud noises and bright lights to generate scares and it just didn't work for me. The wrap around story "Tape 49" was good, but I liked the ambiguity of the first films "Tape 56" better. V/H/S 2 added fun to the series and I hope these films continue.

This is a remake that actually manages to improve upon the original in almost every way. There is a cult following for the 1980 version, but I think it's incredibly gratuitous and boring. This remake doesn't quite justify all of it's brutal violence, but even with all the scalpings director Franck Khalfoun has created a truly elegant film. It's incredibly well directed and one of the best looking horror films out there. The synth soundtrack is also incredible. The first person perspective takes a bit of time to get used to but this is an unflinching and at times incredibly effective approach. Elijha wood is an interesting choice for the lead role but I'm convinced there was a better choice. There's little menace or sadness to his performance and with a better actor I would have called this a modern horror masterpiece. The screenwriters bring in some intelligent ideas to portray this characters madness. Even with Wood's mediocre performance these ideas still come through brilliantly. Maniac is still one of the best horror remake I've ever seen and also the most warranted.

The Wizard of Oz is one of the most magical films of all time and no film that carries the Oz name will ever match it's whimsy. That being said, Oz the Great and Powerful does a serviceable job of transporting us to a place we've only dreamed of going. The visuals are beautiful and I can imagine many children in awe of some of the images on screen. Some of the effects are a bit sugarymbut for the most part they are consistently interesting to look it. James Franco does a fine job of portraying Oz, Rachel Weisz is great as the conniving Evanora and Michelle Williams gives an almost boringly pleasant performance as Glinda. That leaves one performance left, and that's Mila Kunis' awful portrayal of Theodora. The wicked witch is one of the defining characters of Oz and when portrayed with such little menace and verve, it's enough to ruin the entire experience.