DVDs/Blu-Rays I Own

"The Shining" has everything a good horror movie needs: an unsettling atmosphere, a really creepy cast, and a terrifying score. Stanley Kubrick has created one of the most, if not THE most, terrifying films of all time.

Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson's role) has decided that he is going to take a job as a winter caretaker at the Overlook Hotel. He thinks it will be good for him because being alone will give him time to work with his writing. So, Jack gathers his wife, Wendy (Shelley Duval), and his son, Danny (Danny Lloyd), and they head out to the hotel.

However, it doesn't take long for strange things to start happening to the Torrence trio. Danny starts seeing a tidal wave of blood exit the elevator and two girls standing in the hallway, asking him to play with them. Jack slowly gets cabin fever and nearly abuses his wife and child.

Why are these things happening? Well, the manager of the Overlook Hotel, Stuart Ullman had previously told Jack that the old caretaker had gotten cabin fever as well, and killed his wife and two daughters, and even himself. Is it related to Jack's situation?

Now, Wendy and Danny must find a way to escape this evil hotel before their demented family member can kill them.

Jack Nicholson portrays the role of Jack Torrence perfectly, playing the part of a once normal man who is slowly going mentally insane. It's a shame that Nicholson didn't receive an Oscar nomination for his quality acting in this film.

"The Shining" isn't scary because ghosts are jumping out of corners or demons are possessing people. Sure, there are some really creepy hallucinations (like the blood wave or the two girls), but the majority of the scares come from how you are anticipating something scary to happen and how the characters are slowly losing their mind.

One thing that is great yet terrible in "The Shining" is the original score, composed by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind. The music is very unsettling and scares you just as much as the unsettling atmosphere of the Overlook Hotel or the madness of the main characters.

Without a doubt, "The Shining" is the scariest film I have seen in my life, as of now. The amazing acting from Jack Nicholson, the menacing score, and the very unsettling atmosphere all contribute to the pure horror of this classic film. Stanley Kubrick has succeeded yet again.

"Super 8" is much more than a typical alien flick: sure, it has a large "Cloverfield"-esque monster, but the overall idea of the film is the bonding and life struggles of the characters. Thankfully, director JJ Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg get the job done perfectly, with a little nostalgia along the way.

"Super 8" revolves around Joe Lamb and his friends, who live in the town of Lillian, Ohio in 1979. Joe's best friend Charles is shooting a zombie flick on his trusty Super 8 camera for a film festival. Charles, Joe, Cary (a sort of pyromaniac), Martin (the nerd), and Preston (the other nerd) are all really excited about this little film, so Charles decides to ask another local kid to be the female protagonist of his film: Alice Dainard, the sort of "girl next door" that everyone has a crush on, including Joe and Charles.

So these friends go out (thanks to Alice's car that she uses without permission) to the local train station to film an impactful scene in this little movie. As they film a rehearsal, a train heads towards the station, causing Charles to begin the real thing for "production value".

This train heads by, unknowing of the pickup truck that will cause it to explode, raining shrapnel all through the air, nearly killing our young protagonists. This train wreck sets up the base of the film, leading into strange disappearances and other happenings of the sort.

The plot isn't quite about the source of these happenings, but more about the bonding of the friends and their struggles through the attack. Young Joe and his dad, Jackson, have just lost their mom and wife, respectively. Both are still struggling to get back on track and let this unfortunate event go on. Through the attack (and Alice with Joe), the two slowly and surely find a way to put this misfortune behind them.

Considering this film consists almost completely of young, undiscovered children, the performances they give are just amazing. Joel Courtney plays Joe perfectly, portraying a young boy who lost his mother in spectacular fashion. The main supporting actress, Elle Fanning, is just as great, creating a perfect emotional scene one moment, but lighting up the room with her smile the next. Kyle Chandler plays Jackson Lamb, and plays him pretty darned well as a police officer who just wants to get to the bottom of things. The best actor has to be Ryan Lee, however. His role as the energetic Cary will keep you laughing and smiling throughout.

The special effects are, surprisingly, adequate. Yes, seeing a train explode in a giant fireball is amazing, but the alien just looks too similar to that of 2008's "Cloverfield", leaving you unsatisfied with the design of this menacing creature that stops at nothing than to destroy those who hate it. The rest of the effects are fine though, like the fantastic ending scene.

One of the standout reasons "Super 8" is so impactful is the score. As well as nostalgic hits like "Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra or "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, the original score, composed by Michael Giacchino, adds on to the overall theme of the film with nearly no flaws.

Sure, "Super 8" may not be good enough for a Best Picture mention, but in years, I'm sure that "Super 8" will be looked upon as "not just any old alien flick". JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg have succeeded yet again.

"Inception" is one of those movies where when you're done watching it, you wonder if the events in the movie could be real. Christopher Nolan did a spectacular job with this film.

"Inception" follows Dom Cobb, a thief who steals ideas from the dreams of others, and his team as they enter the mind of Robert Fischer. They enter this young man's mind to plant an idea rather than steal one: inception. Now, I'll admit that the storyline is rather confusing, given the fact the dream has three layers and jumps around quite a bit. However, if you take the time to listen to each line of dialogue and pay attention closely, you'll understand the movie very well and enjoy it way more than those who don't. The cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is very memorable, even if you don't recognize a majority of the actors or actresses.

As well as plenty of action, the film has some of the best special effects I have seen in a film. Since you can manipulate environments in your dreams, the movie is full of spectacular moments that take your breath away. Some of the best moments include a scene where two characters fight in a rotating hallway and a city bending over on top of the other half.

The soundtrack of this film is without a doubt the best soundtrack from any film. All of the tracks are intense, and some of them are even sad or nostalgic. The soundtrack is one that you'll remember for a long time.

Overall, Inception's beautiful special effects and action sequences mix with the very original plot to make it the best film of 2010, and one of my favorite movies of all-time.

"The Amityville Horror" tries too hard to be scary. It IS a scary movie, but the thrills aren't always genuine.

"The Amityville Horror", a remake of the 1979 classic, has a backstory that is key to understanding a majority of the film. In 1974, the DeFeo family lived in a house in Amityville, New York. One of the DeFeo family members, Ronald DeFeo, Jr., brutally murdered the six remaining members of his family in their sleep.

One year later, the Lutz family (George, Kathy, Michael, Billy, and Chelsea) move into the Amityville home. Only the Lutz parents know about the unfortunate event that had occurred there, after the real estate agent delivered the news at their first viewing of the home.

As with most horror movies, it doesn't take long for things to go from good to terrible. Chelsea becomes friends with an imaginary friend named Jody, who coincidentally, shares the name of one on the Amityville victims. George hears garbled voices coming from an air duct. Things move around the house for no apparent reason.

Slowly, George becomes more and more bizarre, mistreating his fellow family members, and eventually repeating the events that had occurred there one year ago.

In several ways, the plot of this movie reminded me of a film released one year after the original "Amityville Horror", "The Shining". Family moves to new home. Family sees strange things. Dad slowly goes insane. Dad tries to murder family. It was a little too similar for comfort, but I could tolerate it.

"The Amityville Horror" is a horror movie: therefore, it is full of scares and frightening scenes. A few of the scares really scared me, making me jump a few inches out of my seat, but a majority of the scares seemed a little forced and useless.

The acting in "Amityville Horror" can be pretty scary, too. Ryan Reynolds plays the lead role as George Lutz, and, unfortunately, he's not very good at it. Something about him just isn't quite as psycho as, say, Jack Nicholson or Heath Ledger. Melissa George plays Kathy Lutz, who's performance is about the same as Reynolds': adequate.

I wouldn't say that "The Amityville Horror" is a BAD horror movie; it just could have been produced a little better. The story is nice, although it is tired and familiar, but the scares get a little overboard at times.