Wednesday 27 October 2010

Trick or Treat Week: Buried VS Paranormal Activity 2

Today’s Trick or Treat Week post is on two movies that are quite popular at the cinema this week, Buried and Paranormal Activity 2. While very excited to see both today (yes I sat through two movies at the cinema which cost me a small fortune!) which one will rank as the Trick or Treat?







Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)


Synopsis:
After experiencing what they think are a series of "break-ins", a family sets up security cameras around their home, only to realize that the events unfolding before them are more sinister than they seem.

Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat
Directed by: Tod Williams

The 411...

Let me start by saying I feel harsh on this movie by ranking it as today’s trick, however after really liking the original my main gripe is that we witness something that was cleverly displaying in the original movie milked out into a sequel.

The original displayed many scares, but unfortunately, although with throwing a child, dog and teenage girl into the mix, it never seems as scary. If you have never seen the first then buying a cinema ticket for this one is a waste of time, its certainly not a stand alone film.

Although disappointed it does still manage to conger a few chills and tension. The movie is well paced, and well acted with the characters all being believable. However director does not bring us anything original with his second outing and I may have been slightly more impressed watching it in the comfort of my own home.

Overall, not a bad DVD venture when its released, but as a cinema outing, you could do better spending your money on a horror that’s not all too familiar.


Buried (2010)


Synopsis:
Waking groggy in pitch darkness, Paul Conroy, an American truck driver working as a contractor in Iraq in 2006, slowly realizes he is trapped inside a wooden coffin, buried alive. With his cigarette lighter, he can see the trap he is in, and he quickly realizes that there's not enough air for him to live long. He finds within the coffin a working cell phone, which allows him contact with the outside world. But the outside world proves not to be very helpful at finding a man buried in a box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Paul must rely on his best resource--himself.

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, with voices of Robert Paterson, Jose Luis Garcia Perez
Directed By: Rodrigo Cortes

The 411...

Ryan Reynolds delivers, for me, his best performance ever in Buried. Although tagged as a thriller/drama, if your claustrophobic like me, and being buried alive your version of hell, this movie is horrifying!
While what might seem desperate at times to find enough material to fill 90 minutes, it doesn’t deter from the fact that Rodrigo Cortes delivers us Tension from start to finish, with some delightful dark humour thrown in.

The unsettling nature of the movie pours out on screen in gripping form. What’s definitely commendable is that 90 minutes of mainly one actor wriggling around in a dark box is no easy to task to entertain the audience on such a long period but is certainly achieved.

Overall, it’s a memorable fairly paced movie and I can’t express enough on how much I enjoyed it. It’s a certain treat for movie goers and well worth a cinema ticket price. I Might even go see it again!

Have you seen these movies? What did you think of them?We love your comments! 

8 comments:

levian said...

i am impressed! i thought from its trailer, paranormal looked much more intimidating n buried is just another boring movie that drags the time. now i know which to aim when the disc is out.

Unknown said...

I hated the first Paranormal Activity so I will see the second only if they drag my cold, dead body to the theatre and prop me up. And somebody else better pay for my ticket.

Buried on the other hand was excellent and I'm in agreement with you about Ryan performance. It was his best so far.

Unknown said...

As a fellow film critic, I normally don't usually read any movie reviews that I am very interested in seeing before I see it because I don't want the critics' opinion to influence into my own review but after seeing that you wrote one, I had to read it. I am quite surprised you didn't like Paranormal 2. I kind of liked the original. I didn't think Buried would be any good but now I going to have to check it out based on your recommendation.

Unknown said...

I totally agree with you on Buried. I can only imagine how hard it was for the director to entertain the audience throughout the whole film, but he managed to do it, and I really like the film. I was expecting at least some flashbacks or something to take us out of the coffin.
Talking about Paranormal Activity 2, I'll trust you on this one and wait till it comes out on DVD.

Jaccstev said...

This is interesting, for me Paranormal 2 is a better one than its original.

DEZMOND said...

oh, BURIED gives me so much creeps, with all the claustrophobia .... Similar to JACKET with Adrien Brody!

Mandy said...

I'm quite surprised at all the good reviews Buried is getting! It seems incredible that such a simple film could deliver but evidently it does! I'm surprised that Paranormal Activity 2 has the same actors as didn't, um, that become impossible after the first film?

I hate how expensive cinema tickets are in this country. We got Cineworld Unlimited tickets for a year but I decided that I hated Cineworld cinemas so much that I'd rather just not go to movies at all.

Michele (TheGirlWhoLovesHorror) said...

The trailer for Buried got me very interested and I'm pleased that it seems like it's actually a good movie. And I actually like Ryan Reynolds, but the roles he's had before (aside from the Amityville remake) don't seem to push him as an actor at all. This one looks like it does just that!