Because this is a film that sticks with you. (Yes, it's a corny line, but sheesh, take that Joel Seigel...)

OK, so I saw this movie. Opening night. At least, opening night for the rest of us who don't live in NY or LA. When you live in the midwest and get an obscure movie playing close to you, you best jump on it. It either will never come, or will be in the theatre for a very short time.

So, being in the midwest, most theatre owners think that an obscure little movie like this won't draw a big crowd, even on opening night, so they put it in one of the tiny theatres. You know the kind I'm talking about, the small theatre section where the air is thicker than Trump's comb-over, and the faint scent of grampa's feet permeate the room.

Nothing was going to ruin my mood though, I'd been wanting to see the film ever since I saw some still shots from it, and listened to the music on the website. My mood was even more enhanced since I'd just come from EB games, and had purchased the Special Edition 4 disc DVD set of The Fellowship of the Ring for $12.99. Movie nerd night for me. God bless my wife for putting up with me...

So anyway, we go in, no popcorn in hand, which I normally don't do anyway. Here's why. I dare, DARE you to watch a movie and get a popcorn, but no drink. You see, they harness chemicals from the Sahara desert and add it to their popcorn. The idea is to make your mouth so dry, you'd pommel a toddler just to steal his juice box. Five handfuls of popcorn, and my lips are so dried out and cracked that I feel like I could meet Joan Rivers, and she'd just hold me and say over and over again, "I know, sweetheart, I know..."

OK, back to the flick. Loved it, but I wanted to love it more. I think I pulled a Phantom Meanace and was just expecting too much from this film. I wanted it to tear me apart, and it didn't. I am not a crier, and have only cried at maybe 3 or 4 movies. I wanted this to be one of them. It wasn't, but that doesn't mean it wasn't for lack of trying.

Looking back, there was only one aspect of this film that really really made me mad. It totally ruined it for me, but since I thought of it a few days after I saw it, I still enjoyed the film. The images are beautiful. The performances are real and true. The pacing is great. The art design is brillant. The fantasy element swept me away. The creatures (hand-eye coordination man especially) felt like they were taken right out dreams I used to have when I was a child, and would wake up and lie in bed for hours wondering if it had acutally happened or not.

The music: spot on. Proof positive that Danny Elfman and John Williams have a love child out there somewhere.

The violence: well, hard to describe. The violence in this film is just so different, and I finally two seconds ago just realized why it was so different, and why it makes such an impact.

Here's what I loved about the violence in this film. Take your typical Hollywood violent film. The violence is totally emphasized and played up. If Hannibal Lector is gonna kill someone, he takes a long time to do it, in dramatic music, and big close ups, and slow motion, and mega loud sounds and foley work. It's all done on a grand scale. This movie is the total opposite. I can't remember one violent scene that's in slow motion. No music is played to move it along, and no special attention is given to it. It just happens, clear, clean, easy, and in real time. No loud sound effects, no slow motion shots, no loud 1000 piece orchestra with chorale, it just happens. Before you know it, you're like, "AH!" then ,"Ewww"

Overall, as sad as the film is, it's a wonderful journey. Escapism at it's best, and a haunting and beautiful world I was glad to visit.

February's "If You Like...Then Try..."
by Brandon Hetzler
Feb 28, 2007

OK, so I have one day left in the month, and I want to do what I hope will become a monthly thing. Ever see those "If you like......, then try......." ad campaings? It's basically just aploy to get you to buy more stuff. Same with me, I'm just trying to get you to watch more movies:)

The basic premise is this: I take a film that was more mainstream or popular, and try to suggest a film that may be just as good, maybe better, but didnt' get as much exposure or credit. So, it may give a chance for some of the less popular movies to get noticed, which is what we're all trying to do here!

So here we go..... you ready?

A few years ago, Mr, M. Night Shama, um, sooma, oh forget it. From now on I'm just going to do what I've done for the past few years. I'm going to refer to him as M Night Shama-lama-ding-dong. This is not an insult to him or meant to put him down, it's just the name I gave him becuase I can't remember how to pronounce it. Anyway, he comes out with this movie called Sixth Sense. Huge at the box office. All the buzz of the month. I saw it in the theatre, but didn't enjoy it as much as the others did I think. This may have been my fault, I saw it much later than everyone else did, and had heard about a shock ending, so I was looking for it. I figured the movie out, and it pretty much ruined it for me.

Many moons later, my old roomate tells me about a movie that his cousin saw called Stir of Echoes, and that it was really good. Being at Hollywood Video that weekend I had walked up and down the new releases, embarrasing myself becuase I had actually laughed out loud while standing in the corner or the store all by myself. Drew attention to myself, and probably put off a nice creepy vibe to boot.

I'll explain: I was laughing at the amount of JUNK I was seeing at this location. New releases start in the corner of the store with "A" movies. I had picked up a movie called "Ankle Biters", which is a movie about midget vampires. Yes, it made me laugh out loud, and this film did not look like it was selling itself as a comedy. (Sidenote: Curiosity got the best of me and I ended up watching it on Netflix, oh my, words cannot describe...)

So, I see the Stir of Echoes movie, and get it. LOVED it. In fact, Sixth Sense had a bigger budget, but I actually thought that this movie was better written.

Kevin Bacon, all six and seven ways of him, plays an average joe who's put under hypnosis and given a suggestion to be more open to the world around him. After this, he begins seeing visions in his house, and a ghostly girl that haunts him. The mystery unfolds at the end, and all is well played.

What I really liked was the little boy who had a "gift" of seeing the dead, a la Haley Joel Osmont. However, this kid's no scardey cat. He not only sees dead people, he chats with them like they're his neighborhood playmates.

Many of the lines make no sense at all, and many of the scenes are confusing, until it all plays out in the end. I love movies like that. In the end, all is explained.

So, if you liked Sixth Sense, check out Stir of Echoes. You won't be disappointed!