Entrapment (1999)

The Long Connery

Despite its use of the impending millennium as a plot point, Entrapment’s filmmaking sensibility feels much older.  The foundations on which it is built – the chemistry of its stars, the emphasis on glamor, its escapist sense of adventure – all feel sadly old-fashioned in the current filmmaking landscape.  Though it certainly brings specific movies to mind, Mission: Impossible and the Pierce Brosnan James Bond entries among them, what Entrapment really echoes is more ineffable: an old-Hollywood mood of light entertainment.

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Deep Blue Sea (1999)

deep blue sea

Shark-Witted

Jaws is the best shark movie; this is not up for debate.  What is up for debate is the still-prestigious mantle of the second-best shark movie.  While the oft-cited Open Water and The Shallows are formidable contenders, my pick for the true heir to the post-Jaws throne is 1999’s Deep Blue Sea. Continue reading

Blair Witch (2016) vs. The Blair Witch Project – a Comparison

blair-witch-side-by-side

My expectations weren’t high when I saw the new Blair Witch movie, so I wasn’t too disappointed.  It was entertaining enough, and had a few genuinely tense moments. But more than anything the sequel reminded me just how amazing the first one was, and it was easy to see why.  Blair Witch feels momentary; it’ll make you jump a few times in the theater, but it won’t keep you up at night.  The Blair Witch Project is quite the opposite: lacking in jump scares but filled with deeply psychological horror. When compared to one another, the two feel like how-to and how-not-to guides for making a horror movie.  I decided to analyze them based on how they each handled specific elements of their respective stories. Continue reading