Stonehenge Apocalypse

Random thoughts and questions inspired by the SyFy movie. If you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, well, this is what you missed...

1. Here we are at Stonehenge with a random tour group. The earth is shaking. Quaking, one might say. Does anyone move away from those towering stones that would crush you if they fell, as things are wont to do in an earthquake? No.

2. When said giant stones start sliding around, which is the better action:

a. Run away so you don't get crushed between stones or knocked over by ripped-up sod, or

b. Stand still and scream. I guess it doesn't matter, since we've already overlooked the fact that Stonehenge has been off limits to the general public for a very long time.

3. Why is Misha's character Jacob and his friend Joseph? Why not Jake and Joe?

4. That random hazmat person who just got fried? Kinda deserved it. Duh, you knew the thing burned up seven people. Maybe you should RUN.

5. Misha...I mean, Jacob...just emerged from the woods in the morning. Where was he all night, after being chased by security? Hanging in the woods? Yuck.

6. Um...if a signal is reducing itself every time it cycles, isn't it by definition counting down?

7. Jacob has a bit of the Dean vibe, with his layered shirts and the pendant.

8. How exactly did Jacob "pick up" an electromagnetic surge over a distance of x miles and an ocean, anyway?

9. Okay, the first death was inevitable. The second a justifiable mistake. But once something happens twice, you have no one to blame but yourself for letting it happen a third time.

10. Of COURSE the military thinks demolition is the right move! Do they never watch movies or TV? That never ends well.

11. They keep asking how these stones move, but they haven't tried to dig down a little bit to find the tracks they're obviously moving ON.

12. These people don't read comic books. That's Dr. X's symbol on that Mediterranean artifact that Jacob thinks is a key!

13. Yay, no one died during this new Event! Well, not in England, anyway. That blast in Mexico looks pretty deadly. So...why electricity in England and "volcanoes" in the Yucatan and Indonesia? (I use the quotation marks because it looks more like a Michael Bay event than a volcano.)

14. I can't wait to see how long it takes Jacob and the real scientist to get to New York and back! :) They've only got 30 hours.

15. Well, ridiculous science and plot developments aside, I think the idea of re-terraforming the planet is kind of cool.

16. Oh, what a coincidence, the artifact goes EM just as they arrive at the museum. Trigger? None. How convenient to prove Jacob right!

17. Plot twist! Who are those armed whatever they ares bent on getting the artifact for themselves? Uh...Joseph?

18. Commence exchange of catch phrases between former best friends who are now on extremely opposite sides...catch phrases that would indicate insanity if they weren't so overused.

19. Ow. ETA: I can't remember what happened that made me say that.

20. Stones are moving again. How can they be digging up new sod when they're following the same tracks?

21. I'm so glad Joseph's "Chosen Ones" laugh like Beavis and Butthead. Future of the human race, indeed.

22. Wow, the artifact/key thing got clean and shiny.

23. Hey, the bad guy died with half an hour left to go. Good thing he wasn't superfluous or anything.

24. Nice redemptive moment for the clueless scientist/government guy in charge...

25. I hope someone gave Misha/Jacob a GPS, so he doesn't take a wrong turn during his race against the clock/nuclear bomb.

26. Four minutes left, and poor Jacob gets shot feet from his goal! Oh, the tension! I can't tell where the second bullet hit. He's probably not dead.

27. Say it with me now: "It was a ROBOT HEAD."

28. That was the lamest ending EVER.

Review of JDM's "The Losers"

Back in January when I went to visit MJ, we went to see a couple of movies. While paying for the tickets for one of those movies, I earned a free movie pass. Monday was the last day before it expired, so I zipped over to the nearest theater to see The Losers, starring Papa Winchester...ah, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans (the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies), and some dudes I didn't know but ended up liking. Seems appropriate that I used the free pass to see a JDM movie since MJ is such a JDM fan.

The Losers is based on a series of graphic novels and has a bit of an A-Team vibe to it. In fact, there was a trailer for the new A-Team before the movie. Since I like JDM, wise-cracking humor and movies where things go boom, I and the five or six guys scattered around the theater were set for a good couple of hours. The premise is a familiar one among summer popcorn movies -- team of elite military types goes on mission, something unexpected and crappy happens on mission, a truly evil bad guy emerges as the focus of the team's hatred, and they proceed to kick some ass and take some names while going after said evil bad guy. Oh, and throw in a hot, kick-ass chick (this time Zoe Saldana of Star Trek and Avatar, my two favorite movies of the past year) just for good measure. This setup can be a recipe for a good movie or truly awful dreck, depending on how it's handled. The Losers was very entertaining for several reasons.

* JDM as the team leader, Clay. He can still kick butt, but he doesn't have to be all serious, all the time Papa Winchester.

* Chris Evans is so darn funny. He's one part dweeby computer hacker, one part wise-cracker, one part soldier. Plus, his character's name is Jensen. How funny is that?





























* Columbus Short, who plays Pooch, has some really funny lines too, even calling himself the Black McGyver aka Blackgyver. He and Evans play well off of each other.

* A new-to-me actor named Oscar Jaenada. He's the strong, silent, deadly-with-a-rifle type named Cougar. I admit it, I may have drooled. I also admit this character might now be my computer wallpaper.





























* For a girl skinny enough that she looks like a good swift breeze might break her, Zoe Saldana sure can more than hold her own against all the guys she plays against. For someone I'd not heard of before Star Trek came out last year, she has become one of the actresses I enjoy watching quite a lot. I might outweigh her, but I wouldn't want to meet her character, Aisha, if she didn't like me.





























* Jason Patric as the deliciously evil, impeccably well-dressed Max. He's the guy you love to hate but can't help but chuckle when he delivers some of his lines.

The Losers is set up to be the first in a series of movies, so I hope it can rise above mediocre weekend numbers at the box office and so-so reviews in some places so we can get those additional installments.

Have you seen The Losers? What did you think? Here's the trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

MJ: I've been looking forward to this movie since I heard Jeffrey Dean Morgan would be in it. I read Watchmen in January 2008, and understood why Jeffrey said fans of Denny would lose their....well, they wouldn't be getting the same character at all. I urged my teen-aged son to read it (okay, maybe not the best parenting move) but not until he saw the trailer was he a convert. So I thought the two of us could write a joint review of the movie for you.

JF: I was first introduced to Alan Moore through V For Vendetta, unaware that his true genius lay in a novel recommended to me by my mother. Hurm.

MJ: I loved V for Vendetta, the movie, but never read the book. I had actually never read a graphic novel before Watchmen (thank you JDM).

JF: Watchmen takes place in an alternate 1985 in which Richard Nixon is still President, the United States won the Vietnam War and superheroes have been outlawed except for the God-like Dr. Manhattan and the nihilistic Comedian whose murder kicks off the plot.

MJ: The man dies IN EVERYTHING.

JF: Hehe, "Deady."



MJ: FUNNY. Poor JDM. He said when his agent sent him the graphic novel, he thought the agent was playing a joke on him-he died on page three. The agent told him not to be a...well, to just keep reading. He went to meet Zach, who told him the role was his if he wanted. I think Zach was the perfect director for this-he clearly had a vision going in.

JF: Yeah, my friend Sam said he would've rather seen Terry Gilliam direct it. Isn't he cute? The movie stays ridiculously faithful to the novel in all aspects but the ending, which honestly does not bother me.

MJ: The movie was so close to the book that I was actually ticking events off in my head: This needs to happen, and this, and this. I agree about the ending. It seemed to make more sense and create more conflict this way.

JF: There's violence. Lots of violence.

MJ: I hid my eyes pretty much every time Rorschach was on the screen. He was not sane, but he did have some of the best lines in the movie. I loved the line, "God didn't much care what any of us did that night." Also, "I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me."



JF: He had some of the greatest lines in the history of superhero movies. Speaking of greatest, best opening credits in the history of mankind. Bob Dylan makes everything better.

MJ: Agreed. It worked as a terrific prologue, giving the viewers who read the book AND the ones who hadn't a history of these costumed heroes....who weren't really all that heroic. These people wanted to help society but ended up being consumed by their own egos, or by their own power, or hiding behind their masks. It's a great character study.

JF: Psychologists will love this movie. It's definitely more mature in that aspect, as well as giving the existence of superheroes cultural and political aspects, i.e. Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) partying with David Bowie and The Village People and the United States using Dr. Manhattan to win the Vietnam War. Although...the political bits left something to be desired but the first bit with the McLaughlin Group: perfection.

MJ: It did a good job of setting the time period-I never watched the McLaughlin Group, but I remember SNL making fun of it. During the credits, I saw that Annie Leibowitz was portrayed. I recognized the Andy Warhol character and of course JFK and Jackie. My quibble with Nixon was he looked like a caricature. Yes, I know, this is a movie about superheroes, but everything else looked "real," even the big blue guy.

JF: Where's Frank Langella when you need him? Even though I think this guy did a good job, just the nose...long. Like the movie, actually. But despite its length, the film is really fast-paced due to the fact that it has a lot of ground to cover, but stay with it, it's worth it.



MJ: Yet some scenes, like the love scene, were a hair too long. I would have rather they built up other parts of the story, like the big revelation that I'd been looking forward to. It lost some of its emotional punch because a lot of the backstory was compressed.

JF: What the hell was up with that sex scene? It was unreasonably long when it was only depicted in a few frames in the novel. And to "Hallelujah?" There are so many things that are wrong with this scene.

MJ: There is only so much of Patrick Wilson I want to see, you know?

JF: I was more comfortable with Dr. Manhattan's person because at least his nudity highlighted his gravitation away from humanity.



MJ: Yeah, and his need for PANTS? I thought it was just because he didn't shred his pants like the Hulk when he got bigger.

JF: Maybe he just likes the breeze.

MJ: My son, ladies and gentlemen.

JF: Moving on, fans of Grey's Anatomy and Supernatural ...

MJ: That would be me.

JF: ...have been trying to tell me this for ages and I finally agree: Jeffrey Dean Morgan is a horribly underrated actor and he was great as The Comedian. Only he could look so cool beating up hippies to KC & The Sunshine Band.



MJ: He was wicked. Not adorable or redeemable at all. But that music was terrific. I've heard people complain that the soundtrack drew them out of the movie. I enjoyed it, though. "Unforgettable" was playing as a backdrop for the Comedian's murder, "Sound of Silence" during the funeral, "Hallelujah" during the love scene....well done.

JF: Gah, "Hallelujah..." The score was perfect though, it had a real Blade Runner feel to it, but...cooler? Zack definitely liked contrasting themes just as Moore did in the novel. The symmetry that is so prominent in the book also presents itself in the film, but most of it requires a second viewing to understand.

MJ: I do want to see it again. It's a long movie, though, so....maybe after a week or so.

JF: True that, yo. My butt's still flat from two viewings. But Jackie Earle Haley makes it worth it because Jackie Earle Haley is absolutely brilliant as Rorschach. Role of a lifetime despite Christian Bale voice. Lives in San Antonio. Must investigate further. Jackie Earle Haley.

MJ: I loved his scenes with Dan (Nite Owl) and when he was unmasked.

JF: The scenes on Mars are some of my favorite scenes in cinematic history. They're just so beautiful. Towards the end, it kind of has a Return Of The King feel to it, just in how it's edited and in the sense of urgency. Maybe that's just me.

MJ: I didn't get that comparison, and to be honest, Dr. Manhattan was probably the least compelling character for me.

JF: You take that back!

MJ: Come on-the Comedian was intriguing, Rorschach was fascinating, Silk Spectre was interesting...okay, maybe Nite Owl was the least compelling. While Billy Crudup did a terrific job, I felt a distance from the character.

JF: Which makes sense if you think about it. Isn't he getting further away from humanity? Therefore, humans would fall out of touch with him.

MJ: Right. Well, they did a good job with that. So the Mars scenes, while cool, weren't my favorite. I know those scenes were very important to Watchmen fans.

JF: Very much so, but Zack Snyder may be upsetting some Bob Dylan fans with My Chemical Romance's cover of "Desolation Row." But despite my moral opposition to their cover, it fit. "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding?" by Elvis Costello would've been a better fit.

MJ: While I love Elvis, I thought the song they used fit great. So, final analysis...best movie of the year?

JF: What could possibly top it? The Wolverine movie? Please.

MJ: Dude. GAMBIT.

JF: Anyone in Watchmen could easily destroy Gambit. AND THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE POWERS!

MJ: Hey, it's your fault I even know who Gambit is. Remember those cartoons we'd watch over and over?

JF: Uh huh, and who's the one who recommended a comic book to her son? That just happened.

MJ: My fault....my son has WAY too much exposure to pop culture. Back to the movie....I've not been able to get it out of my head for days, and not just the JDM parts (he's actually only in a handful of scenes because, you know, he DIES at the beginning.) Still, really a powerful movie.

JF: You can forgive Zack Snyder for 300 now.

MJ: Hey, now! How can you forget, "THIS IS SPARTA???"

JF: By memorizing the first lines of Rorschach's journal or anything that has artistic merit.

MJ: You like having gas in your car, right?

JF: Most car thieves don't know how to drive a stick, I do.

MJ: Because I taught you. Behave.

JF: "Rorschach's Journal, October 12, 1985..."

MJ: This could go on forever.

Have you seen the movie? What did you think?

Ten Inch Hero

As provocative as the title is—and they do make fun of it in the special features—Ten Inch Hero actually refers to a sub shop in Santa Cruz, California. The story revolves around the staff of Beach City Grill. Tucker (John Doe), the owner, is a peace-loving hippie father figure with a thing for Zo (Alice Krige), the Wiccan who works at the crystal shop across the street. Jen (Clea DuVall) is a sensitive, but insecure young woman who’s had a year-long, online relationship with the mysterious Fuzzzy_22 and is considering a face-to-face meeting. Gorgeous Tish (Danneel Harris, rumored true-life love of Jensen) knows how to work her looks and manipulate men by saying she’s never had the big O, but her relationships are as shallow as the way most men view her. Priestly (Jensen Ackles) is the wisecrack cook with some serious bod mod and slogan t-shirts who just wants someone to look beyond his edgy exterior. And Piper (Elisabeth Harnois) is the newbie, an artist who arrived in town looking for the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was fifteen. Together they’re a loyal, dysfunctional and loving family, despite the fact that all of them are something other than what they seem.

I admit the only reason I wanted to see this indie was because of Jensen. I’d heard reviews were positive, but I never expected to fall in love with the film the way I did. Funny and heart-warming, without being overly cheesy, the simplistic story is one of not judging a book by its cover and finding courage to bust the shackles we bind our own selves in.

Betsy Morris’ script is sharp, snappy, sentimental and sexy. The interchanges between the cast are not only believable, but memorable. You’ll laugh, cry, scream, and sigh. If I were to change anything it would be this: Tish’s character, despite a very likeable performance by Danneel, isn’t developed well enough to explain why a guy would want her beyond her stunning physicality. Also, her sex scenes could’ve been a little more suggestive instead of blatantly gratuitous, which depletes the audience who might otherwise see the film (a bummer as far as getting Jensen more exposure). Also, Priestly gets brave but changes his “wrapping paper” when I wish he wouldn’t have and Jen never does get her cowardly lion to woman up. Nitpicks aside, this little romcom is going in my keeper cabinet and I think you’ll find it charms your heart too.


This movie is available to rent at your local Blockbuster, and for sale here.

Also, for your enjoyment, Priestly’s collection of shirt slogans:

Tip Me or Die

Cat. The Other White Meat.

It’s Tourist Season, Shoot Them At Will

You Know Your Problem? You’re Stupid.

Surf Naked

Orgasm Donor. Ask For Your Free Sample.

Save a Tree. Eat a Beaver.

I Sell Crack for the CIA.

No One Knows I’m A Lesbian

You Can Read

TRAILER:




The HYSTERICAL Tampon Scene w/ Jensen:

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th just had the biggest gross for a slasher film opening…in history! That’s right, Jared’s movie is a record breaker. I, for one, think he had something to do with this feat, because, really, the hockey-masked killer has been going downhill ever since part eight, Jason Takes Manhattan. And although some fun was had with Freddy vs. Jason and Jason X (aka Jason in space) the second best thing about this new Friday the 13th is that the creators got back to the basics.

For those of you unfamiliar with the 1980 original, Jason wasn’t actually the killer. Mrs. Voorhees, deliciously played by the toothy Betsy Palmer, was taking her revenge on camp counselors because she felt their negligence was responsible for her son’s drowning death. In truth, Jason didn’t start killing until part deux and, believe it or not, he officially donned the red-marked hockey mask in part three. What this updated version of the franchise--called a “reboot” by producers--did best was condense the mythology of the first three films and bring this new starter up to wham-bam modern standards while still paying tribute to its history and diligent fans. In actuality, this is number TWELVE in the Voorhees filmography. However, storywise it’s starting a new chapter, and if the current box office boom is any indication, the series not only has fresh blood, but a long future of slasher success.

As reviews go, I’ll keep it simple. Friday the 13th 2009 follows every slasher film’s formula of sex, drugs, drinking, breasts and blood. The story opens with a quick black and white recap. It’s June 13, 1980 and Mama Voorhees is in a life or death battle with the lone surviving counselor at Camp Crystal Lake, but she loses her head (literally) and Jason (Derek Mears) is none too pleased. Twenty-some years later, five backpackers are hiking through the Crystal Lake area looking for a treasure trove of pot plants. Among the young and the restless is Whitney Miller (Amanda Righetti), a woman who feels guilty for leaving her cancer stricken mother for a short weekend away with her boyfriend. Amidst laughter and lewdness the group is quickly and brutally dispatched by a killer sporting a sac mask. “And that’s just the intro” one moviegoer gasped.

Six weeks later, Clay Miller (our boy Jared) shows up in town looking shaggy and sexy, with some serious sideburns. He’s there to find his missing sister Whitney. They’ve been on the outs for years, but when she didn’t show up for their mom’s funeral he knew something was gravely wrong. Conscience-stricken for leaving his family when he was seventeen, Clay wants desperately to discover what happened to his kid sister, but a local tells him she’s most likely dead. People don’t disappear, they die. During his search, Clay crosses paths with a group of young adults who’ve arrived in Crystal Lake to party hardy. Rich bitch Travis (Travis Van Winkle) is showing off his daddy’s cabin and his “friends” are all too happy to lap up the luxury, but girlfriend Jenna (Danielle Panabaker) is quickly seeing him for the douche he really is. One-by-one they all start dying--many of the deaths reminiscent of the first three films--and Jenna and Clay fight to survive. I’ll not detail the body count or spoil who lives and dies, but I will say this…biggest fright…Jared’s gorgeous face…wood chipper blades.

Now that I’ve left you with that haunting thought, let me just say I know critics are harshing on this reimagining, but I personally enjoyed it. I found it humorous, creative, scary and I especially liked that it gave homage to its predecessors. My only criticism is that the tension didn’t really build to squirm-in-your-seat intensity, opening withstanding, and they didn’t utilize the classic ki-ki-ki- ma-ma-ma soundtrack well enough.

Obviously, my favorite thing was Jared. In addition to being ridiculously easy on the eyes, his acting experience on Supernatural made him seem much more credible, he elevated the cast and he was a strong adversary for Jason. Had Jared been wimpy or whiny I would’ve taken serious issue, but the powers-that-be were smart enough to recognize and utilize his heroism. I happily look forward to watching him as the leading man in other films because I think the success of Friday the 13th will give him more opportunities.

Review: My Bloody Valentine 3D

I'm not a horror movie fan. I watched them slightly more often when I was younger than I do now, but skipped most of the biggies. In the last decade, it's taken something extraordinary to get me to see one. Something like, say, Jensen Ackles as the movie's star.

I went to see My Bloody Valentine 3D last week, and enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. I'm going to keep my review spoiler-free in the beginning. If you don't want to know all the details, don't read past the horizontal lines. You've been warned!

I think Jensen Ackles is a tremendous actor, so I expected him to be the best thing about this movie. He almost was, even though it didn't really test his range. Character development was minimal due to the concentrated storyline, and what we got was focused elsewhere, but it was still a treat any time he was on screen. I had a hard time not comparing him to Dean, of course. You'll be sorry to hear that most of the time he's in layers again. He does have one scene that starts with him in a tank top. One of the characters says "Put your shirt on," and the entire audience yelled, "No, don't!" There were physical differences, though. When Tom was climbing up through the woods at one point, he was tentative and shaky, and I thought, "He doesn't move at all like Dean."

I say Jensen was almost the best thing about the movie. If it had been a normal, even digital, film (Jensen in digital is pure beauty!), he would have topped the list. But the 3D was pretty amazing, and took the movie to a whole new level. Some people have said they didn't feel it was much better than the old 3D, but I did.

First, we looked much cooler than we would have with the old paper goggles:


Second, the entire movie is in 3D, not just the stuff that jumps out at you. Now, the last movie I saw in 3D was that kid movie with Sly Stallone as a bad guy (maybe Spy Kids?) and it just gave me a headache. This was like being in a diorama. Plus, my friend who says 3D doesn't work for her got the full effects. Our group was in unanimous agreement.

Speaking of groups, it's definitely more fun seeing this movie in one, so you can laugh at their reactions and they can laugh at yours.

The story held together fairly decently. There were a few moments of eye-rolling dialogue and some holes that couldn't be explained away, but far fewer of them than you'd expect in a movie whose sole purpose is to shock the audience. Most of the staples of the genre were present, but it was kind of comforting to have them there. That could be my nostalgia talking, though (what little I have).

Overall, I'd call it more horrible than scary (no nightmares here), with lots and lots of gore, and well worth seeing for either horror fans or Ackles fans.

Oh, and Tanya? It's easy to close your eyes to avoid the gore. It's well telegraphed. :) Anticipation is, after all, half the fun.

Please note I have no control over the spoilers in the comments!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPOILER ZONE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The basic plot of the story (complete with "twist"! So be warned! Again!):

Ten years ago, Tom Hanniger (Ackles) forgot to bleed the lines in tunnel 5. Some miners got trapped, and most died. The police determined that Harry, one of the trapped miners, killed the others to conserve air. He lived, but went into a coma. A year later (or so I'm told, I missed that notification) he woke up from the coma and killed 23 people--people in the hospital and some kids partying at the mine.

Tom, his girlfriend Sarah, and her friends are at the party and manage to survive, but they leave Tom behind. He almost gets killed, but the sheriff and a deputy show up and kill Harry.

Ten years later, Tom, who left town immediately and never came back, returns to town around the anniversary of the massacre, planning to sell his stake in the mine since his father died. The town's not too happy about that. Sarah is now married to Axel, the town sheriff (and the guy who got her and one other girl away from the mine massacre), but clearly still carries a torch for Tom, who seeks her out repeatedly and enjoys goading Axel about her.

When the murders start happening, Tom is an immediate suspect. He was at the motel where the first two occurred, and is visible through the window on a sex tape found at the murder scene. He's also at the mine when the next one occurs, and the guy who gets killed tried to punch Tom in a bar fight the night before. But he was jammed into a cage, struggling to get out when the murder occurred.

As the movie progresses, though, most of the murders have a connection to Tom. Axel finds out he was in a mental institution for the last seven years and warns his wife off, but while being chased by the killer, she finds evidence that Axel is actually the one. It comes to a showdown between the three--in the mine, of course--and we learn it was Tom all along, kind of in a split-personality thing. They fight, the tunnel collapses, and when a rescuer locates Tom, Tom kills him and escapes, thereby making a sequel a possibility.

The Killers

Even though I was spoiled by a review that mentioned "Crazy!Jensen" and Tom taking off the mask, and even though it was pretty obvious to the discretionary viewer that the body in the miner coveralls was Jensen's (or a really, really good body double), and even though the music and camera angles and clues all pointed to Tom, they managed near the end to make me think it could be Axel. Probably, that was partly because I wanted it to be the lying, cheating jerk instead of the lost, tragic, heartbreaker.

Motivation was the biggest point of discussion for us when it was over. I thought it was funny that they kept questioning why Tom would go after, say, the housekeeper or the chippy that Axel had gotten pregnant. To me, it was as simple as...he's broken. He got attacked, and left behind, and he was already harboring guilt for the mining accident. Then he had to shoulder the deaths of two dozen people. Coming home, seeing those people from the past, triggered his psychosis.

But no one really questioned Harry's motivation. Why he killed the miners was clear, but why all the hospital people? Why the kids at the mine? Why did he suddenly turn into something he wasn't, especially after being in a coma for a year?

Speaking of which.

But What About...

Harry was in a coma for a year, but was hugely muscled and capable of ripping people in half? He didn't have a pickax in the hospital, so how did he tear through ribcages and rip out hearts?

The key scene to keep us guessing about Tom was the third modern death, in the mine. He's watching the murder from inside the cage. Very metaphorical. But later, when he's revealed, they show him putting himself in the cage and taking off the miner suit and mask. Where was that stuff when the others came in? I'm not certain if he disrobed in the cage or outside it, but either way, why wouldn't the police have found the gear and the pickax? There weren't any good places to hide them.

One of the pieces pointing to Axel is his father's old house in the woods, where he shtuped his girlfriend and where she gave him a Valentine's card and told him she was pregnant. Tom found the house, so when the words in the card appear in blood on the wall over dead Megan's head, we're to think it had to be one of the two of them, since they're the only ones who knew about the card. Later, Sarah finds a cabinet full of Valentine hearts (the kind candy comes in) and the card. Since the killer was putting his victims' hearts in candy boxes, she thinks he's her husband.

But the problem with that misdirection is that it indicates premeditation. When we get flashbacks to show how things really happened, Tom seems to be completely unaware of his "Harry" personality, and certain things trigger it to come out. He's fully convinced in the mine that the killer is a separate entity. But he's shown discovering where Harry had been buried, and recovering his old mask and pickax. So those things don't quite jive.

But they were still minor compared to some other horror movies I've seen, and the final shot of the movie, on Tom's expression shifting as Harry takes over and escapes, is chilling enough to make me forgive the little issues. Scary? Gory? Hot guy in a tank top? Eyeballs poking out of the screen on the end of the pickax? Those are enough for me.

Did you see the movie? Agree, disagree, think I'm completely nuts? Tell us what you thought, and please correct anything you think I got wrong, because there were a few places I had to close my eyes. :)